Phoenix Ashes
by Lullaby121
Summary: (Temporary hiatus and will probably be rewritten) Chandra's spent the first nine years of her life living in what she sees as a cage. She yearns for freedom that she eventually gains. However, that freedom comes at an expensive price.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay. So I've created my own back stories for the different planeswalkers. This one is Chandra's and it also explains how Phoenix came into being.**

**This story is kind of paired up with The Light Within but you can read this one individually and not miss anything.**

* * *

"Jarvis!"

Jarvis turned at the sound of his name, "Hey Sis, what's up?"

"Where're you going?" the redhead looked up at him. Her orange eyes sparkled with innocent curiosity.

"I'm just going down to the city for a bit," Jarvis shrugged.

She cocked her head to the side, "Why?"

"Because there are some things I need to take care of," Jarvis shrugged.

"Like what?"

"Just stuff," he ruffled her hair, "You don't need to worry about it."

Chandra watched her older brother walk away. _I wonder what he does when he goes to the city._ She shrugged and wandered back into the village she called home. _I'm so bored. I wish Mom or Dad would leave already. Then I might be able to do something fun!_ She sighed as she opened the door to the house.

"Hi!" Her oldest little sister darted up to her.

"Hey, Lily," Chandra smiled, "You are Lily right?"

The girl nodded, "Yep! That's me!"

She looked down at her sister. The younger girl was set to be taller than her when they were older. Her strawberry blond hair was pulled into a simple ponytail in the middle of her head. She came up to Chandra's chin. Chandra sighed and looked around, "Where's Lilac?"

"Oh, she's with Mom and Dad at the market," Lily smiled.

"Oh," Chandra nodded. _Having twin younger sisters is hard. I'm always getting them confused. I'm sure they don't appreciate it. Oh well._

"Hey, can you make flames?" Lily asked excitedly, "They're so pretty."

Chandra sighed, "Okay, but you have to keep quiet about it alright?"

Lily nodded.

Chandra took her hand and led her out of the house. She led her through village and into the mountains. Lily followed along excitedly, "Can you make the horses again?"

"Actually I was thinking something a little more exciting," Chandra smiled.

"Okay!" Lily nodded, "What?"

"A phoenix," Chandra nodded.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Chandra led her sister to a cave a little way away. It had been a precarious climb up but the two girls were used to it. They went there often. Chandra would show them her ability to create fire in the palm of her hand. They kept it quiet because if anyone knew then they'd get in trouble. Fire magic was outlawed and the use of it was punished severely. Chandra didn't really care though. She walked into the back of the cave and held out her hand. She turned it palm up and flames began to dance across her skin. Lily watched in awe as they took on the shape of a bird. It launched off Chandra's hand and flew around the cave. Lily giggled happily, "It's so pretty! How do you do that?"

"I don't know," Chandra shrugged. She smiled. _It is really pretty. A phoenix. It symbolizes rebirth and a new beginning. _

"That's so cool!" Lily smiled. She clapped her hands excitedly, "Can you do the dragon?"

"The dragon's hard," Chandra shook her head, "I'll do the horses though."

"Okay!" Lily smiled.

The phoenix dissipated as Chandra closed her hand into a fist. She opened it again and three horses composed entirely of flame pranced around each other. They ran up her arm and back down and reared at each other.

"They're playing!" Lily squealed.

Chandra nodded, "Yeah." She closed her fist again, "That's it for today. That phoenix was harder than I thought it would be."

"Okay!" Lily smiled.

Chandra led the way out of the cave and back to their house.

"Where have you two been?" Their mother snapped.

"Sorry," Chandra muttered.

"Watch your tongue and answer your mother's question," her father warned.

"We were playing in the caves again," Chandra shrugged.

"You know you can't do that! You'll get everyone in trouble," her mother yelled.

Lilac glanced at Lily.

Lily swallowed nervously.

"Like I care?" Chandra rolled her eyes, "Honestly you can't control every aspect of my life forever."

"We discussed with Roxin's parents," her father started.

"I don't care," Chandra insisted angrily, "I'm not marrying some moron. I don't know him and you can't make me!"

"You must," her mother insisted, "It will put everyone in the village in a better position."

"I don't care," Chandra repeated, "I'm not marrying some idiot! I'm nine. You can't seriously be thinking on marrying me off already."

"It would be best if we got you into a more structured environment as quickly as possible," her mother said.

Chandra rolled her eyes, "Really? And you think some idiot I don't know is going to help with my 'problem'?"

"He is the son of a highly regarded politician in the city," her father chastised.

"Like I care? He's a spoiled brat. Good for him," Chandra shrugged indifferently. She growled softly, "I'm good. I'm just going to take a walk."

"I want you to reevaluate your attitude. You have to come at this with an open mind."

"Fine," Chandra snapped. She stormed out the door. _They're gonna send me into the city to live with some spoiled brat when I'm nine? That doesn't happen until they're like fifteen. Then everyone starts talking about getting married. This isn't fair. I don't understand. They're just trying to get rid of me. Why'd Jarvis have to go now? What's going on anyway? Why does he always leave like that? I want to know where he goes. I want to go with him. I guess he thinks he just can't afford to look after a kid. I'm not a kid. I can take care of myself. The flames aren't going to hurt anyone. I've never hurt anyone before. Why would it happen now? I've a good enough handle on it._ She glanced around and realized that she had wandered completely out of the village. She sat on a rock and looked out at the horizon. "I don't want to be here anymore. I want to know what it's like to be free," she recreated the phoenix in her hand and let it fly around her, "like a bird."


	2. Chapter 2

Chandra glared at the wall in her room. They'd be leaving soon and she wasn't allowed to be home by herself any more. That meant that she had to go along. The possibility of meeting the boy her parents wanted her to marry was slim to none since he lived in the city but she still didn't want to go with them anywhere. _I want to stay home. I don't want to go on a walk with you. _Chandra sighed.

"Chandra! Let's go!" her mother called, "We're leaving."

"I'm coming," Chandra muttered, "Don't get all worked up, jeez." She walked slowly out of her room and down the stairs.

"Chandra!" Her father called.

"I'm coming," Chandra snapped, "Jeez didn't you hear me the first time?"

"Watch the attitude," her father warned.

"Okay," Chandra shrugged indifferently. She followed her parents out the door and through the market.

"Hey! Look at that!" Lily pointed to a bronze phoenix pendant hanging in a merchant's booth.

"Yeah, it was imported from the island across the ocean," he nodded.

"Can we have it?" Lilac asked excitedly.

The merchant nodded, "Of course."

"No," their father said.

The girls' faces fell.

"Why not?" Chandra asked harshly, "It's just a necklace. What harm can it do?"

"You know that a phoenix is a bird made of flames."

"And?" Chandra glared at him, "It's just a pendant. It doesn't mean anything."

"We aren't paying for something like that."

"Then I will," Chandra shrugged. She turned to the merchant, "How much is it?"

His eyes widened at the anger that burned in her eyes. Flames formed at the base of her pupils and her orange eyes seethed. He shook his head quickly and smiled, "You can have it. I mean for such sweet girls it's free."

Chandra nodded and grabbed it, "Thanks." She handed it to Lily, "You two will have to share it."

The two girls nodded.

"You can wear it first since you saw it," Lilac smiled.

"Okay," Lily nodded.

Lilac clipped it around her sister's neck, "There! It looks great."

Chandra nodded. She shot her parents a defiant glare, "C'mon. We still have stuff to do guys."

"Okay!" they followed her through the market.

Chandra continued to seethe as they walked. _I don't see why that would be such a problem. It's just some pendant. Phoenixes symbolize rebirth anyway. It's not like they'll come up and kill you just because. Sure they're birds composed of flame but whatever. I don't see what that has to do with anything. _She growled softly.

"Hey," Lily grabbed her hand.

Chandra glanced at her, "What?"

"C'mon!" Lilac smiled, "We're going home now!"

"Yay," Chandra muttered.

"Wait," her mother said, "Roxin's family is still here. I think you should meet him. He's a sweet kid."

Chandra's eyes narrowed, "I have no interest in meeting him. I don't want to meet him."

"Come on," her father urged, "They're right over there." He began a conversation with Roxin's father. He was a blond boy with bright green eyes. Chandra might have decided he was cute if she hadn't already hated him. She angrily allowed her mother to drag her over. Roxin glanced at her nervously before looking away. Chandra rolled her eyes. _And Mom and Dad think he can "help me with my attitude"? He couldn't find a rock with a map and a compass. _

"Chandra, say hello."

Chandra shot her father a defiant glare and crossed her arms over her chest. She remained stubbornly silent.

"She's usually relatively sweet though she does have a temper."

"Oh so now you're going to smooth things over because I decided to act against your desires?" Chandra muttered angrily.

"It's not that bad," Roxin whispered softly.

_I kind of feel bad for him. I probably scare him._ Chandra sighed. _It's not his fault. It's theirs._ She glared at her parents again.

"Chandra's really cool!" Lily smiled.

"And nice!" Lilac added.

"She just has a rough shell," Lily smiled.

Roxin nodded. He looked slightly overwhelmed.

"They're twins," Chandra shrugged.

"We do that a lot," the two of them said in unison.

Roxin nodded.

"See you get along with him fine," her mother smiled sweetly.

Chandra hissed through gritted teeth, "Oh thanks for noticing." _I'm not marrying him. Just because we're talking doesn't mean we're soul mates, got it? _

"Watch your tongue," her mother muttered.

Chandra whipped around to face her fully, "I will say what I want. I can say what I want. I don't care what you say. You might as well stop trying because you aren't going to control my life."

Roxin stepped back in surprise.

Chandra ignored him.

"We are your parents. You cannot say what you like to us and it is our job to moderate your impulsive tendencies for the betterment of society," Her father said calmly.

"Society can burn," Chandra hissed, "I'll do what I want. There's nothing you can do about it." She stormed off.

Lily watched her nervously, "Oops. There she goes again."

Lilac sighed and looked at Roxin, "That only happens if you make her mad and try to control her."

Roxin nodded. His eyes were still wide in shock and a slight amount of fear.

Chandra sat on a rock just outside the village. _I'll do what I want and there's nothing you can say about it. I'm not marrying him. You aren't tying me down like that. _She closed her eyes and turned her head towards the sky, "I'll be who I want to be. I don't care what you say." _You can crawl into a hole and disappear. _

The sounds of armored feet clanking on rock reached her ears.

Chandra opened her eyes and slid behind the rock. _What's the army doing here? What's going on?_ She watched the heavily armored soldiers walked past her. They were headed straight for the village. _Why are they going there? There's nothing there?_ Her eyes widened, "The Phoenix." She shot forward.

The lead soldier glanced at her, "What is a child such as you doing wandering around outside of the village? It's dangerous."

Chandra glared at him, "Why does it matter?"

His eyes narrowed, "Are you refusing to answer my question?"

Chandra shrugged, "Maybe, what are you going to do about it?"

"Fire magic has been being practiced in this area and we are here to investigate. You live here?"

Chandra nodded, "Yeah and?"

"Then we will ask you some questions."

"And if I don't answer them?"

"You must."

Chandra's eyes narrowed, "If I don't want to I won't."

"Defiance will not be tolerated," he warned coldly.

"Go die," Chandra shrugged, "I'll do what I want. You cannot like it. I don't care."

"We don't want to have to use magic on someone as small as you but we will if we have to," his tone didn't change.

Chandra rolled her eyes, "Like I care? I do what I want. Why is that so hard for everyone to understand?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chandra growled angrily, "Get off me!"

"We gave you plenty of warnings and you remained insolent," he said, "Will you cooperate should we release you?"

"I do what I want!" Chandra tried to wriggle out of the man's grasp.

He sighed, "Then we will have no choice but to sedate you."

"No!" Chandra felt anger unlike any other she had felt before welling up inside her. She squeezed her eyes shut. Every little thing that had angered her in recent weeks had built up until it was like a volcano.

"You've left us with no choice. If you had just cooperated then it wouldn't have been so hard on either of us. You're a kid. I don't want to sedate you but I will do what is necessary."

Chandra growled savagely. The volcano erupted. Flames sprouted along her skin and grew to a raging bonfire. Everything slowed almost to a stop. Every sound faded to the background. Her anger burned and amplified the flames. At first it was exhilarating. She was able to release the power and anger that had been bottled up inside her. Then everything sped up to a normal pace. She heard screams of agony of multiple people stacking on top of each other. The scents of burning flesh and wood filled her nose. Chandra quickly realized that she could not control the flames. They were too big for her to handle. _I could start small. Take it down a little bit at a time but by that time they'll all be dead already. They'll be dead even if I don't put it out. This is my fault. If I had talked to Jarvis when he wanted to know, if I had let him help me, none of this would've happened. It wouldn't have been so bad. I wouldn't be so angry. The flames wouldn't be this out of control. Is this really my fault though? I mean they didn't understand to begin with. _Chandra sat on the ground in the center of the flames. She was fine. They didn't hurt her but she could tell that it hurt everyone else.

_Lily! And Lilac!_ She stood up and looked around. All she saw was the orange flames that devoured the area around her. Chandra closed her eyes and started to focus on her emotions in an effort to calm them down. As she calmed down the flames died down. She hurried back to what had been the village.

Everything was burned down. Soldiers looked through the rubble looking for survivors.

Chandra froze. Her eyes widened. _I did this. They know it was me. _She swallowed nervously and slid behind what remained of a building.

"Fire magic was definitely the cause of this, Sir," a soldier said.

"Extremely powerful by the looks of it," the captain nodded.

"We haven't found any survivors so far."

"Keep searching," the captain ordered, "and see if you can't find who was responsible."

Chandra ducked lower to avoid being seen as the soldiers wandered away to look for possible survivors. _No one? No one survived? _She hurried away from the building. A small whimper reached her ears. Chandra quickly looked around. _Is someone alive?_ She moved towards the sound. As she rounded a corner she saw familiar blond hair. Her eyes widened, "Roxin?"

He turned and looked at her, "Chandra?" His face was filled with shock and fear. He had been crying but quickly wiped the tears away, "Everybody's dead. They're all dead. It's some fire mage's fault."

Chandra swallowed uncomfortably, "Are you okay at least?"

Roxin nodded, "I just got a few burns."

Chandra nodded, "You should probably go out in the open where the soldiers can find you."

Roxin looked at her in confusion, "What about you?"

"I'm finding my sisters," Chandra shrugged, "Go on." She disappeared. She walked up to the remains of her house. The building she had hated being in was in ashes. She found the necklace she had gotten for her sisters but there wasn't anyone alive. _This was all me. I destroyed the very thing I wanted to protect. I destroyed everything. _She sat on the ground and stared at the pendant in her hand. Her fist clenched over it and tears slowly slid down her cheeks. She heard footsteps behind her.

"Are you alright?" a soldier asked.

Chandra jerked away from him, "Leave me alone!" Flames crawled along her skin as she hid her fear underneath a mask of anger.

"A fire mage," the soldier said in shock.

Chandra whirled around and glared at him, "Thanks for noticing!"

"I'm going to have to arrest you," he said. He was still shocked from his discovery but hid it behind the veil of his duty.

Chandra met his gaze defiantly, "I'd love to see you try."

The soldier sighed, "Please don't make this any more difficult than it has to be. All you have to do is cooperate."

Chandra glared at him, "I don't want to and I do what I want."

"Then it looks like I'm going to have to use force."

Chandra's eyes narrowed. _I don't care. It was suffocating anyway. I can't take this anymore!_ She felt something click inside of her and the world around her blurred. A pale blue mist surrounded her and she was sucked into it. At first it felt odd. She just floated in nothingness. Then she started to fall and her skin began to burn. The flames hadn't hurt her before but they hurt now. Agony caused her back to arch. She shut her eyes and clenched her teeth. _Stop! Stop! It hurts!_ Her eyes opened as she hit hard ground. "Ow," she rolled over onto her stomach and lifted herself to her hands and knees. She looked around. Large city buildings rose up before her. Her eyes widened in awe and surprise.

She could tell that the sun was up but she was in the shadows of extremely tall buildings. The buildings stretched up taller than any building she had seen before. She got to her feet. Everything was still extremely large. _It's like they took a city and just went crazy. Everything's so big and over exaggerated. Most of the building probably doesn't even serve a purpose._

"Welcome to Ravnica, little one."

Chandra turned in surprise, "Who-who are you?"

"I'm just someone that's here to help," a young woman walked out of the shadows into Chandra's view. Her long black contrasted starkly with her pale skin. Her eyes were a solid black. Her canines came to exaggerated points that appeared to be exceedingly sharp.

Chandra's eyes widened, "You're not human are you?"

She smiled, revealing the full extent of her teeth, "No, I'm a vampire."

Chandra swallowed, "How can you help?"

"I can help you survive in this harsh multiverse."

"Multiverse?"

"You're a planeswalker now. You have the ability to travel between worlds, called planes. That ability makes you special. Considering your age and landing, I would assume you are new to this whole thing," she held out her hand, "but I can show you some tips and tricks."

Chandra glanced from her hand to her face and back again. Though she was a vampire and intimidating there was something about her that softened those animalistic features, "What happens if I go with you?"

"I'll be your guide. I'll show you the most effective way of surviving in these worlds."


	4. Chapter 4

The vampire took the pendant that was in Chandra's hand. She had completely forgotten about it. The vampire clasped it around her neck, "A phoenix. Interesting choice."

Chandra looked up at her in surprise then down at the pendant. It was slightly twisted and malformed from the fire it had managed to survive. Some of the feather detail had been worn out but it did still look like a phoenix.

"C'mon. I'll start by showing you around. And proving to you that you can trust me."

Chandra looked around. _Well it's go with her or get lost and probably die._ She warily followed the vampire through the dark streets. She spent about two years with the vampire but never learned the woman's name. She ignored her talent with flames and buried the memories it brought up.

Chandra learned a lot of things. Since she couldn't actually kill the vampire, she served as a practice dummy for Chandra. She developed this obsession with fair. She wanted life to be fair and would ensure it was.

The vampire taught her how to kill almost anything but she also didn't give Chandra much time to think on the morals behind the errands she frequently had the girl run. The redhead was always busy and the vampire saw to it. That left Chandra little time to herself and little time to question anything. When she did have time she did a lot of questioning but that was often cut short by another errand.

The city was run by ten guilds. Each guild had a job, though some were harder to determine than others. Chandra was told exactly what each guild did. She was also taught how to manipulate the members of the guilds using the common interests of members and the guilds ultimate goals. She didn't manipulate them beyond the practice the vampire had her do because it made her uncomfortable to do so. This went on for two years before the Azorius, the guild in charge of arresting criminals, finally caught the vampire.

"You're under arrest for a multitude of crimes," the arrester said sternly.

"Oh really?" the vampire purred.

"Yeah," the arrester flicked their wrist and three soldiers quickly arrested her.

The vampire smirked and didn't bother fighting them.

Chandra watched from the shadows.

The arrester noticed her almost instantly, "Bring her too."

Chandra cocked her head to the side. _Oh boy. Here we go._

"We won't hurt you," the arrester promised, "You just need to come with us."

"Don't worry about it dear," the vampire smiled reassuringly, "they won't hurt you. Besides the Azorius are easy."

Chandra swallowed nervously and followed them out of the alley and through the city. The Azorius guildhall was brightly white. The walls were white and the floor was white. The sun shone in through skylights set at regular intervals. Everything was regular and ordered. Even the way people walked through the place was orderly. The vampire was taken into a special type of detention cell. Chandra watched uncomfortably, "What are you going to do?"

"Worst case scenario is she dies," the arrester sighed, "but hopefully we can purge the curse from her and then let her return to life in the city."

Chandra glanced at her, "Wouldn't it be fair to kill me too then?"

The arrester shrugged, "Sure, it's fair but it's not right."

"It's not?"

"No," the arrester shook her head, "You are just a kid that was misled and taken advantage of. Killing you would be cruel."

Chandra blinked in surprise, "But—"

"There is a difference between what is fair and what is right," the arrester explained patiently. She glanced at the vampire, "Every helper of yours we've come across has been similarly naïve."

The vampire shrugged indifferently, "Naiveté is valuable. It's what helps people retain their innocence and outlook on life."

Chandra shifted but remained silent.

"Life is not fair," the arrester turned back to her, "if it was then you'd deserve everything that happened to you whether it was good or not." She grabbed Chandra's arm and led the girl away, "You don't seem like the type to follow blindly."

Chandra shrugged, "I didn't really have much of a choice. I would've been lost and dead without her help. Then she didn't give me time to think or argue."

"Alright," the arrester nodded. She continued to walk, "I'm Vala."

"Chandra," Chandra shrugged.

"So, introductions are out of the way," Vala smiled, "what do you want to do?"

"What's the difference between fair and right?" Chandra asked.

"Fair is nice in theory. If everything was fair then every bad person would get what's coming to them. However if you mess up on accident then it would give people the ability to punish you as though you had done it purposefully. Right is backed by a moral code that someone holds. It's different depending on the person. Unfortunately these are concepts that you have to figure out on your own. What's right to you cannot be imposed upon you," Vala smiled wryly, "No matter how much this guild might try to impose right on others it won't always work. Society provides common rights for people to live by and common values to uphold. Not everyone born into the society will embrace those values."

Chandra nodded, "So I have to figure right out by myself?"

"Yes," Vala nodded, "Just know that it is not the same as fair."

Chandra nodded, "Okay." _That makes sense I guess. If fair isn't right, then I guess I'll have to decide what that means to me. _

"What are things you value?" Vala asked.

Chandra looked at the pendant around her neck, "Freedom. I want to be able to do what I want."

"Alright," Vala nodded, "What would you do if you saw someone's freedom being taken from them against their desires."

Chandra paused, "I'd intervene."

"Then that would be a value you would uphold. Being able to be free would be right to you." Vala nodded, "What if said freedom made a person want to hurt themselves or others?"

Chandra cocked her head to the side thoughtfully. _Well they'd be hurting other people unnecessarily but it would be there choice. If they were hurting someone I cared about then I wouldn't be very pleased. But it's not like I have anyone like that anymore._ "It depends on who is getting hurt."

"Alright," Vala nodded. It seemed as though she had had conversations similar to this often.

Chandra glanced at her, "The vampire? Have you dealt with her before?"

Vala nodded, "Before this all we got were her helpers. They've always been innocent. They've all just been misguided kids similar to you. They had very black and white perceptions of the world."

"Oh," Chandra nodded distractedly. _So if I can figure out how to live in these worlds on my own and figure out what this means for me then I'll be able to do what I want._

Vala smiled, "I'll leave you to it then."

Chandra nodded, "Thanks." She turned and hurried out of the guildhall. She quickly left the world. She wandered through the Blind Eternities without a real destination. The burning sensation crept onto her skin again. Chandra started to panic. _Uh-oh! I really don't like that feeling!_ She took deep calming breaths and closed her eyes. _I'll be okay. I'll just find somewhere to be and be there for a while until I feel like braving this again._ She clenched her jaws shut on a cry of pain as she landed on hard ground. She sat up, "That hurt." _Where am I?_ She looked around worriedly. Swiftly and silently she scaled the closest building. They were much shorter than on Ravnica. She crouched on the roof and looked around. It was raining and the streets were empty. Flames flickered in oil lamps by doorways but otherwise the streets were unlit.

"Welcome to Innistrad little one," a smug male voice said from behind her.

Chandra whirled around, "What do you want?"

"Just a little morning snack," he smirked.

_Another vampire?_ Chandra's eyes narrowed, "I don't think I'd be very tasty."

"Oh you might turn," he chuckled and slid his finger under her chin, "and then you can spend an eternity with me. I can spend a thousand lifetimes staring into those angry defiant eyes and laughing as you try to fly with clipped wings."

Chandra's eyes narrowed angrily, "How bout no?" Flames filled her pupils and began to crawl along her skin.

The vampire pulled away from her, "Oh, so you're a fire mage? Interesting. You just pop up out of nowhere and you can use fire. You are immune to it right?"

Chandra sighed, "Are you really that stupid or are you just playing games?"

"Watch your tongue," he hissed angrily.

"The last one to tell me that died," Chandra shrugged. _I'm really sick and tired of you. Sure these flames scare the hell out of me but if it'll get you to leave me alone then I'll blow the whole town up. I don't care anymore._

"Marcus, that's enough, don't you have somewhere to be?" another voice cut in.

Chandra looked behind the vampire. Another one stood behind him. His yellow orange eyes looked her over quickly. His white hair fell to his shoulders.

Marcus growled, "Really Sorin? I was just having a snack before the meeting."

"A snack?" Sorin asked, "In case you hadn't noticed this girl could single handedly destroy you in a matter of seconds."

Marcus snarled, "She doesn't know how to use that power!"

"That's the problem," Sorin shrugged, "It's what makes her so deadly. She can't control it. Scare her and she could kill you unintentionally."

Marcus growled, "And what are you going to do with her?"

Sorin's eyes narrowed, "That will be my decision and you do not need to know. Leave now."

Marcus snarled angrily and ran off.

Chandra watched with wide eyes.

"Come with me," Sorin turned and began to walk away.

"Why should I?" Chandra asked defiantly.

"You are as defiant as you are powerful," Sorin shook his head, "That power will attract vampires more powerful than Marcus. I get the feeling you don't want to be turned."

"Not particularly but you're a vampire too," Chandra's tone took on an accusatory hint.

"I know," Sorin turned back to her and walked up to her, "I am a vampire. I'm also trying to help you. You obviously have the potential for a very dangerous person. That ability at your age is easily exploited due to your naiveté."

"I know," Chandra nodded, "I don't trust you."

Sorin smirked, "I'm not surprised. Very well, don't get in trouble and I will introduce you to someone you might connect to better."


	5. Chapter 5

Chandra glanced behind her at where both vampires had disappeared, "Um, I still don't trust you." She slid down the roof of the building and dropped onto the street below. _I'm being watched. I don't know by whom but I know I am. _"Oh boy," she darted down an alley and out into the outskirts of the city. "Oh gross, it's all wet," Chandra looked around her in disgust, "I don't like being wet."

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

"A little fire mage?"

Chandra whirled around, "What do you want?"

"Nothing," a young man smirked. His black eyes looked her over intently. He glanced at the woman standing beside him, "Think she's strong enough?"

"Definitely," she leaped towards Chandra.

Chandra jumped back. _Two?! I'm not sure I can hold off both of them if he's as fast as she is!_ She ducked a blow from him. However the woman managed to hit her in the back. Chandra growled, "Dammit."

"Well, it's time for us to say good night," the man tossed a bottle onto the ground. As it shattered an odd gas filled the air.

Chandra suddenly felt tired. _No! I'm not going to sleep!_ Everything dulled around her and she collapsed. When she opened her eyes the first thing she noticed was that her arms were in chains that were attached to a solid iron pole. Runes covered each of the chain links as well as the pole. Chandra looked around the room. _I won't be able to melt the metal. The runes see to that. I can't draw any mana. But if I can find keys or even something to pry the links apart I should be able to get out._

"Well, good morning." An insane cackle followed the words.

Chandra looked to her left and saw a young man crouching on a shelf. Vials of various liquids she couldn't identify lined the many shelves. None of them had labels on them. _Well damn. So much for getting out of here without too much trouble._

"Let's see," he dropped off the shelf and turned to the vials it held, "Which would you like to try first?"

"What are they?" Chandra asked. Though she appeared calm impatience and fear flitted through her mind. _How am I going to get out of here? I can't draw from anywhere. _"Why am I chained?"

"They are going to test your stamina," he grinned, "and the chains are to ensure that you don't run away. You're the strongest person we've come across so we're going to find out if you're strong enough to fulfill the job we have for you."

Chandra's eyes narrowed, "You're kidding. How do you plan on doing that?"

"Well," he grabbed a vial and a knife, "We'll start with this since you don't seem to have a preference."

Chandra pulled as far away from him as she could.

He kneeled down in front of her, "You have permission to scream." The knife reflected light as he held it vertically, point up, in front of his nose.

Chandra struggled against the chains, "And what if I don't want to scream?"

"You won't be able to help it," he used the knife to cut her right shoulder.

Chandra hissed. _That burned. I'm not going to give this freak the satisfaction of hearing me scream._ She gritted her teeth as pain began to etch its way into her mind, "Poison huh?" _How is this supposed to make me stronger? Poison weakens its victims._ The pain steadily increased until it pushed everything else out of her mind. Chandra squeezed her eyes shut. Her breath came in short gasps. _This hurts a lot. _After a little bit, the pain slowly eased away. She gasped and opened her eyes. _That's better. I'm glad that's over._

He remained in front of her and watched her carefully, "You have a strong will. Let's try something else."

"What?" Chandra asked in shock, "But it just faded."

"So?" he shrugged, "This is part of what we're trying to find out." A twisted smile crossed his face as he stood. The next vial he grabbed held a thin black liquid.

Chandra gritted her teeth. Rage clouded her thoughts, "You better believe I'm gonna get you back one hundred fold for this."

"Oh I bet," he cleaned the knife carefully, "We don't want cross contamination. If that happened you could die."

"Poison will kill me anyway!" Chandra snarled angrily.

"Not in the amount that I'm giving you. You'll feel all the pain but you won't die."

Chandra hissed. _I hate you. When I get out of here I'm going to kill you._

A thin line of blood cut across her left shoulder. It was in the exact same spot as the cut on her right shoulder. The cut instantly started to burn as though it were being touched with an acidic cloth. Chandra snapped her jaws shut on a scream. _What the?! That burns. It hurts but it's different than the other one. _Blood dribbled down her arm but as it did the poison it held burned the skin it traveled over. It felt as though a mild acid traveled through her veins. Tears budded at her closed eyes but she kept her mouth stubbornly shut. _You're going to pay for this._

"Well, you aren't screaming at that one either. You really are stubborn. Everyone else we've tested died on that one. One poison after another really weakens the body in the short term," he observed.

Her eyes opened to slits just so she could glare at him.

"Ah, the anger. That is how you're resisting, I'm assuming."

Chandra hissed but didn't bother speaking. _If he's just going to run through poison after poison then I'm not going to bother speaking with him._

"Let's try this one."

"It hasn't worn off yet," Chandra muttered.

"Oh well," he shrugged and returned to the shelf, "And we'll try doubling the dose. You are strong willed enough to survive. I'm sure."

He cleaned the knife and put a clear liquid on it, "This is one of the higher grade poisons. It will hurt."

A feral snarl escaped her lips. _Like I care. The moment I get out of here I'm killing you. And everyone in your little organization._

He slit her right shoulder just under the other cut. She couldn't hold back a scream of pain with this one. Pain instantly shot through her entire body and the longer it sat the more intense it grew. The poison continued to wrack her body with pain.

He grinned as her screams filled the room, "I knew I'd get a scream out of you eventually. I just had to take a poison that kills seventy five percent of its victims double the amount that I gave you and now I have the screams I requested. What a beautiful sound."

Chandra glared at him even through the pain, "I will kill you." Rage burned inside her and it was evident in her words. Her promise caused him to smirked, "That's only if you get free."

Her burning rage settled into an oddly cold hatred. _I will get free. I promise you I'll get free. Then I'll kill you._ The pain finally fell away leaving only hollow exhaustion. She let her head fall limply. _I'm so tired and weak but that won't stop me. When I get out of here, no matter how long it takes or how weak I am I will get my revenge for this._ She smiled in icy satisfaction.


	6. Chapter 6

"Well then," he smiled, "You've survived quite the long time." Chandra was unaware of how much time had passed but she guessed it had been well over a week. The room had no windows and a single door. It was lit by the fire behind her. The enchantment of the chains was renewed every time she opened her eyes. _I'm either in too much pain to function or I'm passed out from exhaustion. This is frustrating. Apparently the enchantment on the chains gets weaker throughout the day, meaning someone has to renew it._ She looked up as he kneeled down in front of her, "What now?"

"You've grown resistant to the poisons I've been using so we're going to try something new today. This has killed everyone it's been tested on in the first dose. There is a hundred percent mortality rate," he grinned, "but you are strong willed enough to survive. I'm sure."

"What is it?" Chandra asked.

"Phoenix Heart Poison," he laughed coldly, "It's very fast and painful. If you're lucky enough to survive then it's very slow and painful." He stood and walked over to the shelf, "We'll try you out on double the normal dose."

_Double?!_ Chandra's eyes widened, "But you just said the normal dose kills everyone!"

"And you are strong willed. I'm sure you can survive even this," he smirked at her. His eyes glittered with disturbing excitement.

Chandra gritted her teeth, "You're kidding. You're putting all your faith in my stubbornness?"

"No, I'm trying to actually kill you," he grinned, "This is after all my job. If you can survive this then you'll be perfect for the job."

"Tell me how long it's been," Chandra insisted.

"It's been three months."

Chandra's eyes widened, "What?"

"Your perception of time has been distorted because of how much pain you have been in," he explained.

Chandra gritted her teeth as he walked up to her. The blade was lined in a reflective scarlet liquid. _Oh great! I might just die before I can get him back._ Her eyes narrowed and a dangerous glint filled them. _However I can feel the chains getting weak. If I can work through the pain and manage to get free then it doesn't matter because I would have achieved my goal. Well, part of it._

He kneeled down in front of her. A barely suppressed psychotic cackle escaped his lips. The blade slid quickly across her skin. The cut it formed was deeper than the previous ones. Chandra clenched her jaw as pain instantly spread through her veins. Her vision blurred but she saw her skin begin to peel apart starting around the cut. However it quickly spread down her arm. She could feel every layer of skin splitting. She choked as her throat began to close up and breathing became difficult. Her high pitched cries of pain were drowned out only by his maniacal cackling. His cackling stopped as he noticed the tips of her hair beginning to spark, "What's going on? What are you doing?"

With a final scream flames erupted violently outwards. Chandra was barely aware of the freedom she had. She dropped to the ground and curled into a ball. Flames quickly devoured the building and everyone else in it.

"Fire Mage," Chandra felt a flash of pain as someone poked her arm. Her eyes snapped open. Two blurry forms leaned over her. _I'm not on the same plane anymore._

"Well, look who's awake finally."

"We thought you were dead for a while there."

Chandra coughed, wracking her throat in severe pain. Her vision still hadn't cleared though it normally would have by now.

"Don't bother trying to sit up. You used quite a bit of mana with that explosion you caused. Also the poison hasn't completely left your system yet so you should just rest."

Chandra gritted her teeth. Her efforts to sit up proved fruitless as she was too weak to lift herself into a sitting position. Her vision began to clear.

"I said don't bother, you're too weak and the cuts opened by the poison are nowhere close to being healed."

"Shut up," Chandra hissed. _I don't remember asking for your opinion. I'll sit up if I want to._

"Fine," one of the two people in front of her helped her into a sitting position. Dizziness washed over her instantly. Her vision filled with black dots. Shaking her head did nothing to help her.

"Alright, now that you're sitting up will you stop endangering yourself?"

Using her hearing to guess where the woman was, she glared at her.

"Don't look at me like that. I saved your life."

"Whatever," Chandra muttered. Her throat burned as she continued to speak, "Don't order me around."

"Then why don't you—"

"Lilianna, she's extremely powerful and could blow us to the other side of the multiverse. Let's just let her do as she wishes."

"I'm leaving," Chandra tried to stand before falling to her knees. _This sucks! I can't even stand._

"You can't even stand," Lilianna pointed out.

Chandra glared at her. Her vision was clearer and she could now see the woman in front of her. Her long black hair flowed to her waist. Her pink-purple eyes had a kind of background glow to them. Chandra's eyes narrowed, "You're a mage. A black mage."

Lilianna put her hands on her hips, "And? I saved your life."

"Sure, I don't care," Chandra shrugged indifferently.

"You can't even walk yet."

"Watch me," Chandra gritted her teeth. She managed to get to her feet and walk unsteadily out the door. _That took a lot of concentration and effort._

"Hey, Fire Mage," Lilianna followed her, "Come back. You aren't healed yet and the poison isn't out of your system. It won't leave unless it's flushed out."

Chandra snarled, "Let it stay. I don't care."

"You'll die," Lilianna insisted. Her tone suggested that the idea didn't bother her any.

"You'll just pick me up if I do, won't you?" Chandra glared at her.

Lilianna smiled, "You pick up on things quickly. Maybe you should try working with others instead of going off on your own. It'll make it easier on you."

"Shut up," Chandra rolled her eyes. _I can't work with people and I don't want to._ She disappeared in a pillar of flames. _I'm going to find the organization he kept going on about. I'll figure the rest out when I do find them. What job did they want me to do? Why would they want me? And why'd they have to poison the hell out of me to get it?_ "Why am I so special?" Chandra arrived on a world she didn't recognize.

"I sense an intense hatred from this child. Find her and bring her to me. She may be the perfect tool for the job." The woman flicked blood off of a blade, "Bloodcult needs new recruits. We're losing our touch."

"Of course, Mistress." The small devil flew off of her shoulder and disappeared into the sky.


	7. Chapter 7

Chandra hid out while she regained her strength. _It's probably the smarter thing to do before I take revenge. I mean it'd kind of suck if I passed out and died in the process._ She didn't begin her search until her strength had fully returned.

"Hello little one," a devil landed in front of her. Its voice was soft and raspy. Its black reflective eyes stared at her.

Chandra glared at it, "What do you want?"

"More like what do you want," It smiled at her revealing sharp jagged teeth.

Chandra's eyes narrowed, "Why do you care what I want?" She stormed past it, "Now leave me alone."

"You want revenge," the devil watched her as she walked away.

Chandra froze. _What? How can that thing know?_

"I know which organization you're after. I also know where some of their safe houses are."

Chandra turned back to it in shock, "You do?"

"Yes, yes I do." It nodded, "I also have the ability to locate their safe houses. Follow me."

Chandra hesitated. _You know I haven't had a great past when it comes to following people. Of course then I could just use them long enough to get what I need and get out._ Her eyes narrowed, "Okay." She followed the devil to a dark worn down mansion. The windows were blocked out or completely broken. There was no door and the roof was filled with holes. _I'm going to have to be careful. I don't want to be used as a tool. I just want to get that one organization. They aren't going to be able to just point their fingers and watch me destroy their enemies. _Chandra nodded.

"Hello."

She turned and saw a young woman with deep black hair. Her eyes were the same black as the devil. She wore a black jumpsuit. Chandra nodded, "Hey."

"You're certainly very down for a twelve year old girl."

"Oh well," Chandra shrugged.

"Well, in order to share the information we have you're going to have to join our organization."

Chandra's eyes narrowed, "Join?"

"We won't tie you down. You can range free. The only requirement is that you check in every once in a while."

Chandra growled, "I can do it on my own." She turned and began to leave.

"Very well."

Chandra growled and clenched her fists. _I'm not getting stuck in some organization. I'll do this myself. No one's going to tie me down._ She barely had time to duck an arrow that was flying towards her. She turned to see the arrow hit a knife that was flying through the air. _I didn't even know that was there._

"That's low. If you're going to kill a girl just because she doesn't want a part of your game then at least let her defend herself."

"Like you can talk," Chandra muttered, "You're as old as I am."

"I know," the boy in front of her nodded. He smirked, "I'm actually a year older than you."

Chandra glared at him, "How do you know how old I am?"

"I was here the whole time. You're twelve," he shrugged.

"I'm a month and a half older than twelve," Chandra snapped.

"I'm still older than you," he smiled.

Chandra growled.

Another boy appeared, "We better go. They're surrounding the entire building while you two have been arguing."

"I can get out by myself thanks," Chandra glared at both boys.

"Just come on, we'll get away and then you can go from there." The second boy grabbed her wrist and dragged her along with them.

"I'm Hawk by the way," the boy with the bow said.

"I'm Falcon," he let go of her wrist but checked to make sure she was still with them.

"You were named after birds?" Chandra asked, "That's kind of lame."

"Those aren't our real names," Hawk chuckled.

"Okay what are your real names?" Chandra asked.

"Can't tell you that," Falcon shook his head.

Chandra's eyes narrowed, "Why not?"

"Because they're secret," Hawk shrugged.

Chandra rolled her eyes, "Whatever."

"Look out," Falcon pulled her to the side quickly.

Chandra stumbled but managed not to fall. _I feel so useless._ She watched Hawk shoot an arrow behind them.

"There're a lot more of them than we can handle," Falcon glanced over his shoulder.

Chandra smirked, "Nah, there aren't that many." _Let's see if I can do this without burning the world to hell._ She glanced at the two boys with her.

Hawk cocked his head to the side, "That's a lot."

Chandra shook her head, "Go find some rocks to hide behind or something." She slowed to a stop and turned around.

Falcon sighed, "Let's go. I really don't want a fight breaking out when we're supposed to be getting back."

Hawk sighed and followed. The two boys had sandy brown hair. Falcon has green eyes while Hawk's eyes are blue. They both wore black out fits decorated with pointless chains and buckles.

Chandra turned to face the group of seven people. Two had been downed by Hawk and were no longer chasing them. She concentrated on her feelings of rage until she felt a familiar burn in her veins. Her hair started to spark at the tips before lighting on fire completely. In a moment the entire area was wreathed in bright orange flame and smoke. She darted away from them to where Hawk and Falcon watched. They both stared at her with awestruck expressions. Chandra glared at them, "What? Are we leaving or are you going to wait for the flames to die and the smoke to clear?"

"Your hair's still on fire," Falcon pointed out.

"I don't care," Chandra snapped, "It doesn't hurt so it can stay on fire for all I care."

Hawk shrugged, "Let's go." The two boys led the way back.

Chandra sighed, "So why'd you come anyway?"

"We heard that Bloodcult's lead devil was following you," Falcon said.

"Whenever it follows someone they end up either joining Bloodcult of their own free will or they're killed and reanimated with their power intact," Hawk added.

"And none of the independence they used to have," Falcon added.

"I like my independence thank you," Chandra rolled her eyes, "Alright, so why are your names secret."

"We're assassins," Hawk shrugged.

Chandra cocked her head to the side, "And you saved me? That doesn't make any sense."

"We aren't part of your typical assassin's guild," Falcon sighed.

"Alright," Chandra sighed. _That doesn't help me at all. _

"We could take you," Hawk shrugged.

"You're seriously allowed to bring in just anyone?" Chandra asked, "Aren't assassin's guilds supposed to be secret?"

Falcon shrugged, "Star'll just wipe your memory."

"No one is touching my memory," Chandra snarled in sudden anger.

"Then you'll have to at least promise to keep your mouth shut," Hawk said.

Chandra sighed, "Or join your little guild obviously."

"Well yeah but you don't have to," Hawk shook his head.

Chandra rolled her eyes. _Might as well get a look around. I mean these two aren't so bad. _

"Hawk, Falcon, welcome back."

Chandra looked around, "Whoa, how'd we get here?"

"A portal," Falcon explained.

"It's a little complicated to explain," Hawk shrugged.

"It's like an extra dimensional space," Chandra looked at the woman in front of her. _She looks like a human. Except the angel wings…and gold dragon wings and her eyes are creepy._ Her hair was long and silver. Her golden eyes reflected light like metal.

"Who's this?" an elf dropped from the ceiling beside her.

"The one with four wings is Wyvern. She's Lily," Hawk whispered in her ear.

Chandra nodded.

"This is the girl Bloodcult was after," Falcon explained.

"I have a name you know," Chandra snapped.

"You didn't tell us it," Falcon kept his tone neutral.

"You didn't ask," Chandra crossed her arms over her chest.

"What's up with your shoulders?" Hawk asked, "They're all scarred."

Chandra shook her head, "Doesn't matter."

"Okay," Hawk nodded.

Lily's eyes were an extremely dark blue. The black and shadowy dragon's wings that spread from her back contrasted starkly with her fair skin and blond hair. Black scales covered parts of her skin including her neck, the sides of her stomach and her shoulders bleeding into her arms. Her clothes were cut to reveal these scales. Black horns extended from her cheekbones sloping up and back past the back of her head, "Well, welcome to the club."

"I don't want to join your guild," Chandra insisted grumpily.

"So?" Lily asked, "You're here and I'm welcoming you. You wouldn't be here if those two hadn't thought it was worth bringing you."

Chandra sighed, "Fine."

"Lighten up," Lily grabbed her hand and lifted off into the air.

Chandra squeaked in surprise before covering her mouth. _That was awful. Why'd she have to do that?_ Lily flew through the center of a spiral stair case. "Where are we going?" Chandra asked.

"To meet Eclipse," Lily shrugged.

"Why?"

"Because you're here. It's his job to decide what's up with you."

"Oh great." _Another person trying to stick their nose where it doesn't belong. _Chandra rolled her eyes.


	8. Chapter 8

"You!" Chandra recognized Sorin.

He nodded, "I see you remember."

Lily smirked, "See ya later kid." She left quickly.

Chandra glanced over her shoulder, "Who are these people?"

"This would be a guild of assassins."

"They seem a bit lively for assassins," Chandra muttered.

"It's considered an assassin's guild. I like to see it as more of a family for those without one," Sorin shrugged.

"And why was I brought here?"

"Because Hawk and Falcon decided it was what was best," Sorin shrugged, "I would ask them for an answer to that question. However, you have three options. You can join the guild, you can have your memory manipulated or you can swear that you will keep your mouth shut."

"I'll keep my mouth shut," Chandra stated confidently.

"Very well, let me see your finger," Sorin reached out his hand.

"Why?" Chandra asked.

"A seal," Sorin said, "You are giving me your word."

Chandra hesitantly gave him her pointer finger.

He took a very small knife and pricked it.

Chandra hissed softly, "I'm sealing in blood?"

Sorin nodded, "Yes."

Chandra growled. _This guy's insane. Why blood? He is a vampire. Well that's a disturbing thought._

He nodded, "Remember this promise."

Chandra nodded. She put her finger in her mouth before walking out the door. She returned to the world she had been in. _That was certainly an odd feeling. It was different than passing between worlds. I guess since the building is an extra dimensional space that would make the experience different._ She wandered back onto Ravnica. "I haven't been here in a while," she looked around. The place wasn't any different than she had left it. _I don't really have any business here. I mean I guess I could look around. Or I can go back to my original goal. _ She nodded to herself, "That's the whole reason I even got this far in the first place."

"Are you lost?"

Chandra turned in surprise. A girl a few years older than her stood behind her, "Well, no. Not really."

"Oh," the girl smiled, "You seemed lost."

"I was just debating what to do first," Chandra explained vaguely.

"Okay." She smiled, "You look sad."

"Sad?" Chandra glanced at her in surprise. _I don't feel sad. I feel more angry than sad. _

"You look like you're trying to hide something from yourself and the world," she added.

Chandra shook her head, "No way."

"Okay," she nodded, "I'm Layla by the way."

"I'm Chandra," Chandra shrugged.

"Nice to meet you," Layla smiled. She reached out her hand, "C'mon. I can show you all the best places in this area."

Chandra gritted her teeth, "Okay." _I really have more important things I could be doing right now. _She followed Layla through the streets of this particular part of Ravnica. _I just don't want to seem mean. I mean she isn't so bad I guess. She's a little annoying but I guess that's to be expected. _

"This is a really nice clothes shop," Layla smiled.

Chandra nodded.

"C'mon!" Layla led her inside.

"I actually don't really want to go shopping," Chandra muttered.

"You may not want to but you need to," Layla glanced at her, "If you want to fight for any reason you need clothes that are in good shape."

"What makes you think I fight?" Chandra asked defensively.

"Your clothes are damaged from blades," Layla traced a cut in her sleeve, "and you have scars on your shoulders that suggest deliberate cuts from an outside source."

Chandra stared at her in shock, "How in the world do you know all of this?"

Layla smiled, "Everyone in my family fights for a living. They participate in this type of tournament thing that everyone loves but they always have scars and their clothes are always all cut up."

Chandra sighed, "Alright."

Layla nodded. She let Chandra pick out the clothes and then she paid for them.

"Layla, how's your dad?" the shop owner asked.

Layla smiled, "He's fine. He's still healing but definitely getting better."

"That's good," Last week's injury looked pretty bad."

Chandra remained in the background and silent. _This is awkward._

"Who's this?"

"This is my friend. I'm just getting her some new clothes," Layla winked at Chandra.

"Well isn't she a little fighter. It looks like some of her clothes got burned."

Chandra swallowed nervously, "Maybe a little."

Layla shrugged, "That's why I'm getting her new ones."

"Alright, see you two ladies later."

Layla left. She led the way to a pastry shop, "I'm hungry."

"I'm not really," Chandra muttered.

"That's fine. You can save what you get for later," Layla skipped into the shop.

Chandra had changed her clothes into the new ones. She didn't exactly like the way they fit but it was better than nothing. They were a little tight for her preferences. _Beggars can't be choosers. I've just gotta deal with what I've got because it's not like I have any money anyway._

"You're looking sad again," Layla pointed out.

"I'm just thinking," Chandra muttered.

Layla sighed, "Okay. If you don't mind me asking why do you fight? Why are you fighting? The reason you do something can really affect your outlook on life."

"I'm just trying to find someone."

"Why?" Layla asked.

Chandra shrugged.

"I think you do know but I won't pester anymore," Layla smiled and put her hand on her friends shoulder, "Just put some thought into why you do the things you do."

"I want to."

"That's fine," Layla smiled. She led the way to a rather large house.

"Just how much money do you have?" Chandra asked.

"My family fights to entertain others. I'm the only one that doesn't. My older brother and sister and my parents all fight. I'm learning but it's not exactly something I like," Layla explained.

"So four people are all earning money?"

Layla nodded, "Yep. It also means I'm home alone a lot." She glanced at Chandra, "You can stop by any time you want though. I'd like to have friends over once in a while."

"Why don't you?" Chandra asked.

"Most of my friends are a lot older than me and they're mostly shop owners so I wouldn't be comfortable with them in the house when it's just me."

"Oh," Chandra glanced at her, "And I'm around your age so it's better?"

Layla nodded, "Yep! You don't have to come by if you don't want to but the doors always open for you."

Chandra nodded, "I think I'm gonna go home actually."

"Alright," Layla grinned, "See you later."

Chandra nodded, "See ya." She wandered through the dark streets of Ravnica. _I'm just gonna wander around for a bit then I'll get back to what I was doing._

"Kill it!"

Chandra turned, "Kill what?" she moved warily closer to the alley the cry came from.

"No, please don't. I—" the sentence was cut off by a cry of pain.

Chandra picked up her pace. A young boy with a devil-like appearance was surrounded by three large men and a lithe and powerful looking woman. Chandra watched in shock as the adults beat the kid. She shot forward and knocked one of the larger ones to the ground by hitting the backs of his knees with outstretched arms. She stepped in front of the kid, "Leave him alone! He's just a kid. He can't control what he looks like!"

"So are you girlie," the woman hissed.

Chandra stood firm and glared at each of them. The one she knocked over was climbing to his feet. Her eyes narrowed, "I don't care. I can take all four of you down in a single hit if I wanted to."

"Oh really? You can't be that fast."

"It doesn't require speed," Chandra's voice lowered warningly, "Now leave him alone."

"Why? It's not human."

Chandra's eyes turned a bright opaque orange and the tips of her hair sparked. Flames started to crawl along her skin, "Leave him alone." Fire began to circle around her.

The people's eyes widened, "She's a mage!"

"What if she's with the Boros?"

"Then we're screwed!"

"Let's get outta here," the one she had knocked over suggested, "The little demon won't get far."

The four darted out of the alley.

Chandra sighed. It took a moment for the flames around her to die. _Well that was exciting._ She kneeled down in front of the kid.

"Don't hurt me?" He asked uncertainly.

"I won't," Chandra promised. She held out her hand, "C'mon." She helped him to his feet. He was younger than her by a few years at least. _Where am I gonna take this guy?_ Her eyes widened, "I have the perfect place for you." _'I like to see it as more of a family for those who have none.' I'll just leave him with them and then go back to what I was doing!_ She smiled reassuringly at the boy, "I'm Chandra."

"I—I don't have a name," he mumbled.

"That's fine," Chandra nodded, "I'll just call you…Night."

"Okay," he looked away from her, "Isn't nighttime dark and scary though?"

"No," Chandra shook her head, "Nighttime is the time when the stars come out and the only time you can see everything that the sky has to offer. The moon comes out and everything looks like it's made out of silver or diamonds."

He looked at her, "Really?"

Chandra pointed up to the sky, "Look."

He looked up at the sky. The stars twinkled in brightly against the black and the moon shone brightly. He smiled, "Okay."

Chandra sighed and then looked around. _I honestly don't know how to get to the extra dimensional space that they hang out in though. Man, this sucks. I don't know how to get there and that means that I can't take him there. _She looked around again. One of the walls nearby shimmered and shifted as though it was an illusion. Chandra walked up to it curiously. She reached out to touch it but her hand passed right through it.

"It's an illusion," Night cocked his head to the side.

Chandra glanced over her shoulder, "C'mon." She passed through it and ended up in a familiar room.

"Well, well, look who decided to come back," Lily smiled.

"I actually found a kid that I wanted you guys to take care of," Chandra said.

"Sure," Lily shrugged.

Night looked around in shock, "This is…weird."

"Let's just say you aren't the only one with an odd appearance," Inferno shrugged.

Chandra smiled, "See you later. They're really nice." _If a bit intimidating and crazy._

Night nodded.

Chandra disappeared and arrived back on Ravnica, "Well that was exciting." _Now let's finally go back to what I was planning on doing!_ "I hope they'll take care of him," she glanced over her shoulder. _I trusted you to look after him so you better do it._


	9. Chapter 9

**This chapter's actually kind of short. Oh well. I couldn't come up with anything else to tag onto the end that wouldn't ruin the moment.**

* * *

Chandra wandered around the multiverse for a little while. _I wonder why I keep running into these kids. I mean I visit that place to drop other kids off often enough that I might as well join them. I can't yet. Not until I get my revenge. _"At least I'm one step closer. I mean I took care of a few people." _ Okay, it was a little more than a few but whatever. Maybe I should visit Layla. Sure she's kind of annoying but she was alright._ Chandra shrugged indifferently, "I'm not even sure I want revenge anymore. It's just become too much work." _Course then what the hell am I going to do? I mean I've learned a lot of things. I could just use that to my advantage. But what would I use it for? _"Man life is so complicated," Chandra sighed. She returned to Ravnica and dropped by Layla's house.

"Hi!" Layla smiled and waved at her excitedly, "C'mon in." Chandra followed her into the house. It was pretty much what she had expected from a rich person's house. "Do you need new clothes again?" Layla asked in amusement.

Chandra glanced at her in surprise, "Well no not really."

Layla nodded, "Okay." She led the way up the stairs to her floor of the house.

"You have an entire floor dedicated to you?" Chandra asked.

Layla nodded, "I spend most of my time in my room though."

Chandra followed her to her room. It was large and very white. Everything in it was white. The sheets were clean and spread over the bed neatly. At least they were neat until Layla grabbed the corner and flung them around a bit.

She flopped onto her bed, "Much better."

Chandra laughed, "Why'd you do that?

"Neat sheets make this place look like a prison cell."

Chandra nodded. She sat down on the floor, "Why is everything in here one color?"

"My parents assigned each of us a color," Layla shrugged, "Mine was white."

"That's messed up. You didn't get to choose the color?"

"Nope," Layla shook her head, "it's what I've always had. Everything of mine has been white for as long as I can remember."

Chandra looked around, "That seems boring."

"It is," Layla nodded, "It is very boring." She glanced at Chandra, "Do you wear a mask?"

Chandra glanced at her, "What do you mean?"

"I feel like the you the world sees isn't who you really are," Layla explained, "When I first met you, you were closed off. Usually if someone has a shell it shows that something painful has happened to them. I see it in the kids on the streets all the time. They're very cold and hateful towards other people."

Chandra stared at her, "I'm not wearing a mask." _Great and now you just lied to her. She probably already knows anyway._ "Okay might be a lie," Chandra cocked her head to the side, "I honestly don't know. If I do then I didn't consciously create it."

Layla smiled, "I'm sure it takes time to break a shell but if it's not very old then it'll be a bunch easier!"

Chandra shrugged, "It's not that young either."

"Don't be so down," Layla stood and walked over to her. She sat next to her, "Try to look on the positive side of things. Who knows? Maybe the weight of the world will fall off your shoulders. In my mind at least it would be the first step to breaking a shell."

The two girls heard a door open down stairs. Chandra stiffened.

"Layla! I'm home!"

"Hey it's my brother," Layla smiled and dragged Chandra down the stairs. Chandra sighed. _Awkward. _

"A friend?" he glanced at Chandra. His eyes widened, "A redhead? That's not something you see every day."

"Thanks for noticing," Chandra muttered.

"Feisty one isn't she?" he looked at his sister, "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Layla shrugged, "How was it today?"

"It was fine," he smirked and patted her head, "I got a little banged up but who doesn't?"

Layla smiled, "Anyway, this is my friend Chandra. She stopped by earlier today and we've just been chatting."

"What's up?" he turned to her again.

Chandra shrugged, "The sky." She glanced up, "Well if you want to be technical it's the ceiling and a couple of floors before the sky."

He laughed, "I like her."

Layla nodded, "We'll be in my room."

"Alright."

Layla dragged her back up to the room, "Well that was fun."

Chandra shrugged, "I guess."

"You're really snarky," Layla smiled, "Is that your mask or you?"

Chandra cocked her head to the side, "Well I would say it's kind of both."

Layla grinned, "That's good. You can stay for dinner if you like. I'm sure no one will mind."

Chandra glanced at her, "I mind. It'd be awkward."

Layla laughed, "Okay."

Chandra left before dinner but after she got to meet Layla's parents.

"We'd love to have you over any time," her mother smiled.

"It's nice that she has a friend that's her age. That way you two can hang out," her father added.

"Just don't go getting into trouble," her brother smirked.

Chandra nodded. _I think I'm just going to go now. Bye. See ya._ She walked out the door calmly. The moment the door shut she rolled her eyes, "That was unnecessary." _But I guess it was kind of nice._ She climbed up onto a rooftop of a nearby building and watched people go about their nighttime business in the street below. _I do feel better though._ "Maybe creating a barrier that permanently separates you from other people is more detrimental than it is protective," Chandra looked up at the sky, "Then again maybe hating the fact that I'm naïve and gullible is detrimental too." _I'm a kid. Everyone makes mistakes and sometimes those mistakes will haunt you for the rest of your life. Making a mistake isn't a bad thing I don't think. _"Maybe it's allowing past mistakes to manipulate you that's a bad thing." She smiled. _Wow, I already feel better._ "Having someone peer into my insecurities like that really made me think." _I think I'll just be done with my revenge. It's pointless now. It's not helping anyone._ She lied down on her back and started counting the stars in the sky.


	10. Chapter 10

Chandra ended up practically living with Layla. The two girls spent a lot of time together and Chandra met her older sister as well. Her older sister had much less of a presence in the house. She was rarely ever there. When she was Chandra felt uncomfortable. Something about the woman seemed off to her. Layla's older sister, Silica, had a harsh and jealous personality that Chandra didn't trust.

"Layla your room isn't clean," Silica stated coldly.

Layla sighed, "I asked them not to clean it every day."

"Why?" Silica asked harshly.

"So that it seemed more like home and less like a clinic," Layla explained politely.

"Well tell them to clean it now," Silica stalked off.

Chandra glanced at Layla, "That was kind of mean don't you think?"

Layla shrugged, "She's always like that. It's fine."

Chandra nodded, "Alright." _That doesn't really excuse it. But I guess if you grew up with that kind of thing…and never really minded it, unlike me, then it'd be fine._ She stayed until dinner and ate before leaving. She wandered around Ravnica before deciding to wander off. _I think I've spent too much time in one place. _She wandered through the multiverse. _'It's easy to tell when someone's in pain even if they try to hide it from the world.' _"She can always tell when something's wrong with someone," Chandra shook her head, "It's crazy." _But she never digs any farther than I've ever really wanted her to. Sure I didn't want her digging at all at first but it was kind of nice after a while._ She smiled, "I'll back to visit her eventually."

Most of the next few weeks were spent just wandering. She visited worlds she had never been to and worlds she had. All she did was look and walk and wander. It was nice to not really have a care in the world.

Chandra arrived back to Ravnica in the middle of the night. She was near Layla's house. Muted screams reached her ears almost the moment she arrived. She shot towards the house and threw the door open. She had to dodge a knife that was thrown at her.

"You are not allowed to just barge in," Silica snarled.

Chandra's eyes widened before narrowing, "I knew there was something wrong with you."

"Oh really," Silica stood. Layla fell limply from her grasp.

"You're her sister!" Chandra cried in sudden rage, "How could you?"

"She's an obstacle just like every other member of this pathetic family," Silica shrugged indifferently; "I don't see what the problem is."

Chandra's eyes narrowed.

"You'll pay for this," Layla's brother snarled. He could barely stand but anger and intense hatred fueled him.

"Oh be quiet," Silica snapped. She tossed a knife at him casually.

Chandra stepped in the way and it imbedded itself into her leg. She recognized the sudden exponential pain that shot through her veins. She fell to her knees, "This?" _It's poisoned. I remember this poison._ She squeezed her eyes shut.

"Well, well, aren't you strong willed," Silica smirked, "Your refusal to scream disappoints me."

Chandra pulled the knife out of her leg. "You make me sick," her voice was icy cold. It also held a dark warning. She pulled a knife out of her boot as she stood, "She's your sister. She trusted you to protect her from the pain and horror that this world holds." The tips of her hair started to spark and flames danced in her eyes.

Layla's brother stared at her in shock, "You're a mage?"

She didn't appear to hear him as she stalked angrily forward.

"Why aren't you writhing in pain? You shouldn't even be able to stand," Silica snarled.

Chandra met her gaze. Her eyes were cold even though the flames inside them made them very bright, "I don't care."

Silica back away from her but backed herself into a wall.

Chandra shot forward and plunged the knife into Silica's neck, "Consider that payback." She pulled the knife out quickly. She growled and resisted the urge to fall to one knee. Instead she turned to Layla's brother, "Can you stand up?"

He nodded and struggled to his feet.

She led him out of the house and through a few alleys before she couldn't stand anymore. _Dammit. Not now._

"This should be good enough," he slid down a wall and sat on the ground.

Chandra sighed, "Whatever." She sat against the wall next to him and passed out quickly.

He shook his head, "Damn she's tough." _And more than a little frightening._ He glanced around. _Is it here? Dammit. Star! Can you hear me?_

"Loud and clear," Star dropped from a nearby balcony. She lifted the redhead up and looked around.

"Thanks."

"Anytime," Star nodded, "Wyvern's nearby and on her way. We could hear screaming from a good distance away." She looked at the girl she was holding, "She's good. She even managed to pass us up without us knowing."

He nodded, "That's crazy. She refuses to join up?"

Star nodded, "Yep."

Wyvern landed next to them, "I apologize for the wait."

"No need," he shook his head.

"Let's go ahead and take her back," Wyvern said after looking Chandra over once, "Member or not she's still important."

Star nodded. She turned to Layla's older brother, "Rose, can you walk?"

"I'm not sure," Rose shrugged, "I got pretty damn beat up."

Chandra opened her eyes to a quiet dark room. She was lying on a relatively comfortable bed and under warm blankets. She sat up and looked around. Her leg was wrapped in fresh bandages and was no longer in any pain. Her head was spinning slightly but otherwise she was fine. _Well I would say that this is a definite improvement from my previous encounter with this poison. _She climbed to her feet and opened the door. The hallway was brightly lit. Chandra shielded her eyes with her hand, "That's bright."

"Good morning Sunshine," a tall man with sky blue draconic features leaned against the wall next to her.

Chandra looked at him, "Sunshine?"

"Yeah why not?" he shrugged, "I'm Dragon by the way."

Chandra nodded, "Alright, I'm Chandra."

"Dragon, that's enough. Leave the poor girl alone," Chandra recognized the black dragon, Lily.

"C'mon I didn't even do anything!" Dragon whined.

Lily glared at him, "And? She probably doesn't even want to talk to you. Not after you called her Sunshine."

"You heard that?" Chandra laughed.

Lily nodded, "Yep. We are assassins after all."

Chandra met the woman's gaze, "I want to talk to Eclipse."

"Sure," Lily darted at her. She lifted her up and carried her through the air past the stairs and all the way up. "There you go," Lily set her down and dived back down. Chandra knocked on the door quietly.

"Come in Chandra," he said.

Chandra sighed and opened the door. She walked into the room and closed the door behind her, "I want to join this guild."

He didn't look surprised. "What caused the change of heart?" he asked curiously.

"I've decided what I want to fight for," Chandra stated simply and I want to be able to do it myself."

He nodded, "You'll have to begin training."

Chandra nodded. Her eyes narrowed, "You just don't get to order me around like I'm some puppet."

"Of course not," he seemed slightly insulted that she would think he'd do such a thing, "You will have jobs but you will also have the freedom to do what you wish."

She nodded.

"Come with me," he led her down the stairs. Though his voice seemed like a whisper when he spoke every single person in building gathered into the room, "I'm going to introduce our newest member."

"Hey!" Lily grinned.

"I wonder what her name'll be," Hawk whispered.

Falcon shrugged, "I can't really think of one that's very flattering."

Chandra's eyes narrowed. _I can hear you two._

Hawk noticed and swallowed nervously, "Sorry."

A small smile lit Eclipses face, "She's Crimson Phoenix and I'm going to be mentoring her." He disappeared.

"Oh great," Chandra sighed.

"Lucky!" Dragon dropped from the air next to her, "He hasn't trained anyone. Ever."

Chandra sighed, "And that makes me special how?"

Lily hit Dragon in the back of the head, "Yeah, that doesn't make her any different from the rest of us."

"Well yeah it's just I got stuck with you," Dragon stuck out his tongue.

Lily's eyes narrowed significantly, "Oh really? Do you want me to make your life worse?"

"No!" Dragon said quickly.

Chandra sighed, "It's nice to have people that care. It doesn't really matter who they are or what they're like." She walked up the stairs. _I'm going to look around._

"What was that all about?" Dragon asked.

"When someone's lost people important to them and gotten over the initial response of trying not to connect to anyone else they value the people that they love and that love them," Wyvern said.


	11. Chapter 11

Phoenix trained with the vampire every day in the morning and afternoon for a solid year. She picked up most weapons naturally. She also asked Wyvern to poison her on purpose. Wyvern thought she was insane but agreed to her demands once she threatened to poison herself instead. Phoenix sparred with the half dragons on a regular basis. She quickly beat out Lily, who had been the best besides the vampire. She also intimidated many of the other assassins in the guild especially the newer younger members including Hawk and Falcon. She did however fail entirely on ranged weapons. That inability to use them caused her to disregard them almost entirely. She was good at throwing weapons though. Throwing knives and axes became easy for her very quickly.

"Let's go again!" Phoenix smiled.

"Hold on a sec," Inferno sighed, "I need a break real fast kiddo."

Phoenix sighed, "Okay." _But waiting is so boring!_

"Losing your touch Inferno?" Dragon teased.

Inferno glared at him, "You take her on then. You aren't immune to her fire like I am so it'll be harder for you than for me."

"Yeah right," a very large claymore that was probably meant to be wielded by a creature twice his size appeared in Dragon's right hand. He rested it on his shoulder, "She's only been here a year. She can't be that good already."

Phoenix smiled. Dragon's sky blue wings spread from his back and he shot forward. He brought his claymore off his shoulder and held it out in front of him. Phoenix dodged faster than he could strike but didn't counter attack immediately. Dragon eventually ditched the sword in favor of lightning based magical attacks. Phoenix couldn't move fast enough to dodge the lightning bolts he threw at her. _Dammit!_ She erupted in flames and in a stream of flames shot forward. She slammed the pommel of a knife into Dragon's stomach. She then spun and kicked him in the ribs. She couldn't reach his head without being able to fly at her current height. Dragon stumbled backwards and then was hit with a wall of scorching flames. Phoenix followed the flames and slid behind him. She grabbed his shirt, taking advantage of his lack of balance and pulled him to the ground beside her.

"Wow Pyro. That's certainly unexpected," Dragon got to his feet, "How'd you get so good so fast?"

Phoenix shrugged, "It's easy to me."

"Phoenix," Falcon walked out, "Eclipse wants to talk to you about something."

"What?" Phoenix asked.

Falcon shrugged, "Don't know."

Phoenix shot quickly up the stairs and to the vampire's room, "What?"

"I have your first job," he said simply.

"Oh really," Phoenix looked surprised, "What is it?"

"I want you to look after someone," Eclipse nodded, "Nothing complicated. Just watch them and make sure they stay out of trouble." He paused, "And stay out of trouble yourself. He cannot know what you're doing though."

"Oh," Phoenix nodded. _Great. _"Who am I looking after anyway?"

"Him," Eclipse showed her a recording of a boy with dark black hair and sapphire eyes. He was walking beside a brunette towards what looked to be a school. She couldn't hear what he was saying as there wasn't any audio to the recording, "Okay, who's that?"

"His name is Jace Beleren. He's a telepath that likes to think he doesn't need anyone's help which makes it even more important that he doesn't know what you're actually doing."

"Yay," Phoenix rolled her eyes. _If I refuse I'll be bored out of my mind. _"Sure. I'll do it."

Eclipse nodded.

Phoenix cocked her head to the side, "Where is he?"

"I've already had Wyvern put a marker on the world so you'll know. You'll arrive just outside the city. If you plan it right," Eclipse added the last part like he didn't really expect her to do so.

Phoenix nodded, "Okay." She hurried down the stairs and left the extra dimensional space that the Lotus called home. She arrived on Ravnica. _So it just drops me off on the last world I was on? That's lame._ She planeswalked. Locating Wyvern's marker was easier said than done and took longer than Phoenix had anticipated. _Man this sucks. This is taking forever. Besides why is my first job to look after some telepath that thinks he can take care of everything himself. Or is the vampire just lying to me about that little detail. I guess I won't know until I meet him._ She finally found Wyvern's marker. "There it is!" She arrived on the world in the middle of a forest. "So much for arriving outside a city. Oh well. It's the middle of the night here. Why?" _It's so dark. I don't think there's a city nearby._ She climbed up to the highest tree branch that could support her weight. She could see lights in the distance to the south. _That looks like a city._ She shrugged indifferently, "Oh well. We might as well check it out."

"Who goes there?" a guard asked as she approached.

"Me," she shrugged, "Why do you ask if there's obviously someone approaching you?"

"And you are?" the person that addressed her now appeared to have a higher ranking than his companions.

"I'm a random person that's decided to walk up to your city in the middle of the night," she smirked.

"Your name," he asked impatiently.

"What's yours?" she asked, "Answer that and I'll tell you mine."

"Kylle," he said simply.

"I'm Crystal," she lied.

"Crystal?"

"What kind of person would name their kid after an object?" one of the guards muttered.

"Mine obviously," Phoenix snapped, "Got a problem with it?"

"No," the guard said quickly.

Kylle raised his hand to silence his fellows, "And why would you be wandering up to our city in the middle of the night?"

Phoenix felt a spell be cast nearby. _Come here._ She glanced around.

"Where'd she go?"

"Is she a mage?"

She saw the boy she was supposed to be looking after hanging just inside an alley. _What kind of city doesn't have walls around it anyway?_ She shot over to him. He grabbed her arm and dragged her further into the alleys. _Hey! I'm supposed to be looking after you. Not the other way around, you jerk._

He stopped after rounding a corner.

"I could've handled that myself," she muttered.

"Whatever," he turned and began to walk away.

Phoenix glared after him, "And what makes you think I couldn't?"

"They wouldn't have believed your fake name," Jace explained. He sounded slightly annoyed.

"Oh really?" Phoenix followed him.

"No one around here names their kids after objects," Jace sighed, "even if they are pretty things like crystal."

"I obviously don't come from around here," Phoenix snapped.

Jace glanced at her, "Obviously."

Phoenix noticed the book in his hand for the first time, "You stole that didn't you?"

"What?" Jace stared at her, "No."

"Yeah right," Phoenix smirked, "I know a good thief when I see one. You held the book in the hand that they would never see and you knew to stay in the shadows of the alleys to cast your spell."

"That's just competence," Jace muttered.

_My turn._ "Whatever," Phoenix rolled her eyes.

"Can you go away? You're starting to annoy me," Jace snapped.

"Sure," Phoenix slid out of his vision and then around the corner of the building quickly. She watched him spin in a circle twice looking for her.

"Where'd she go?" he looked surprised and slightly disturbed at the same time.

Phoenix darted down through the alleys and out into the main street to keep him from hearing her laughter. _That was great. He looked so confused._ She wandered through the streets but was careful to avoid the guards that patrolled them. _Now I have to look after this guy and make sure he doesn't get in trouble. I feel like that's a lot easier said than done. I mean he's a mage and a powerful one at that. _Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. She scaled a house and crouched on the roof. _I don't think he's a planeswalker though. At least not yet. I wouldn't be surprised if he was capable of it. He's a telepath huh? Well he did get into my head. He's also a thief. I get the feeling he just does it to sate his own curiosity when he's not allowed access to what he's interested in._ "That sounds like something I'd do. Of course then again I steal something from someone just to spite them," Phoenix chuckled. _I mean if I saw the title properly it was basically an encyclopedia. _"Boring," she sighed and glanced at the moon. _I have to say nighttime is nice here though._


	12. Chapter 12

_I don't wanna!_ Three days had passed and keeping Jace out of trouble was like trying to keep a cat on a leash. Phoenix watched him slip out of his house just after dusk through his window. Unfortunately he was very perceptive and following him took some skill. She was usually found out halfway through the night which annoyed her to no end. She was pretty sure she annoyed him but that was fine by her. He cast a simple spell that put everyone in the house to sleep. He had started to do that the second day she had been watching him. She followed him outside the city. _He uses magic to augment his speed so he can get outside the city faster and have time to do what he wants to do whether it's practice magic or combine the magic he's already mastered with the combat he's learning from his brother. Well more his brother's friend but whatever._ She smiled, "And my brother's here too. I always wondered what he did when he 'went into the city'." _Now I understand why didn't tell me. I wasn't even ten. He said he was going to tell me when I was older and I understood. He ended up never having to tell me but whatever. _

She finally caught up to Jace. He was already sitting on the ground with a book only Jarvis could have supplied him with. He was sitting on the ground looking it over. Phoenix watched him stand up and cast the spell. It took him a couple of tries to get it right but no more than that. _How quickly he picks on magic of almost any kind is crazy. He can probably get good at any magic as long as it's at least slightly related to what came naturally to him._

"I know you're there."

"Of course you do," Phoenix snapped.

"Why have you been following me the past two nights? Well three counting tonight," Jace asked.

"Because I wanted to see what you were doing. Curious minds do wish to know you know," Phoenix shrugged.

Jace's eyes narrowed.

"I wouldn't try picking through my head if I were you. All you're gonna get is a raging head ache," Phoenix warned.

Jace ignored her. He dug a little deeper before pulling out, "Jeez. What? How?"

"I'm a fire mage," Phoenix shrugged.

"I've read fire mages," Jace muttered.

"Good for you," Phoenix smirked, "I'm not just a regular fire mage though." She turned and walked away.

"Wait!" Jace started to follow her. She picked up her pace until she was running through the grass. She stopped and glanced over her shoulder, "Of course he wouldn't leave the book. So he decided not to chase me." _This is getting annoying. I shouldn't have to hold a conversation with this guy every night to be able to keep him out of as much trouble as I can. I don't wanna do this anymore! _"I'm killing that vampire when I get back." _I wouldn't be surprised if his stupid face is laughing at me right now. Jerk._ She shook her head, "Oh well. I took the job so I'm going to do it." _I just hope it doesn't last this guy's entire life because then I'm screwed. _"This is boring," she wandered back to where Jace was. He had gone back to studying the book. Most of the spells he was practicing she didn't recognize. Of course she never bothered with spells. She just blew stuff up with lots of fire. _That speed spell might be useful though. I should pay closer attention the next time he casts it. I'm definitely not going to ask him to teach it to me though._

Jace stayed out there until the sky started to brighten. He cast the speed spell again and darted home. Phoenix was left to follow more slowly. _Jerk. _"There he goes, leaving me behind again," Phoenix sighed and started jogging closer to the city. She dodged the patrol and crouched on the roof of his house. He spent the next few hours lying on his bed in his room. _Does this guy ever sleep? I mean that has to be exhausting. _Phoenix shrugged, "Oh well. To each their own." She followed him to the school he went to in the morning. _Why bother with something like school? I mean sure it's a school for the magically inclined but he looks pissed for the entire time he's there._ She shrugged, "Whatever." She slipped past one of the students and into the library, "After following him around for three days navigating this place is easy." She darted between the shelves to keep from being seen by the librarian. No one else was in the library because the students were in class. It was easy for her to get passed the gate because only naughty students could set off any of the spells attached to it. She had spent the past two mornings in this part of the library. This section of the library was where they held all of the books that referenced the multiverse. Phoenix had decided to be nice and flush out some of the information they had since she was bored out of her mind waiting for Jace to leave the school for the day.

Of course her favor wasn't exactly appreciated because she wrote in the books with pen so it couldn't be erased. She also wasn't exactly filling out the information for the teachers. _If the students want information then they should have information that's technically correct. Well then again if this place wasn't so boring I wouldn't be doing any of this. I mean at least I'm fixing the information they have instead of destroying something. The situation could always be worse._ The librarian also turned a blind eye to her presence in the library. She was pretty positive he knew she was there. Any mage could sense another's presence but it took a special spell that only some could master to detect a mage that hid their presence with a powerful spell. Phoenix herself couldn't cast it but Eclipse made sure all the Lotus assassins had an artifact that had the same effect as that spell before going on any job. She could tell that the librarian knew she was there and just wasn't paying her any mind.

Phoenix decided to finish the book she had been fixing yesterday. She pulled it off the shelf and opened it to the page she had marked. It was a book about magical flowers across the multiverse. However the world on which they grew was not specified. All Phoenix knew were the worlds' four digit numbers that the Lotus used to identify each world. She shrugged and wrote them in anyway. _Someone will get it. I mean Jarvis got the map he gave Jace from Inferno. Of course I'm the only one other than Inferno that knows about that. Well and maybe the vampire. _"But if he minded he'd have sent someone to get it back," Phoenix rolled her eyes. She read through the page and then cross referenced the information about the flower with the database Echo had given her the figure out which world the flower would be on.

She shrugged and turned to the next page. _I really need to come up with a disguise if I want to get better at this whole looking after mages business. Since that seems to be what the vampire wants me to be. Hopefully my next job is a bit more exciting. Looking after this guy is more work than it is fun. _She sighed, "Man this sucks." She wrote the four numbers that represented the world the flower grew on before turning the page. She didn't bother memorizing anything she was reading. She just read it, cross referenced it, and wrote down the four numbers. Then she turned the page and repeated the process. _This is getting really old. However I'm going to finish this book. I'll finish it today or tomorrow. If it's not done by tomorrow then I'm finding something else to do._ She looked around. Students were starting to file into the main library. She sighed and ignored them. She hadn't been discovered yet so she wasn't going to worry about it. Phoenix sighed. _This is so boring!_ She glanced at the pages she still had to fill in, "Oh that's not so bad. I can finish this today." _Yeah. I can do this before Jace leaves for his afternoon stuff. Man shaping my life off someone else's schedule sucks. I don't wanna do this anymore! I want a different job! I'm probably not even getting paid for this waste of time._

_Why would you be getting paid?_

_ Shut up!_ Phoenix glared at where Jace was sitting in front of the gate.

_What are you doing here anyway?_

_Like you care. _Phoenix turned back to her book.

_I was just curious. You don't have to be so mean about it._

_Don't go getting all butt hurt. _Phoenix cocked her head to the side, "This is so weird. It's kind of hard to snap at someone when it's just my thoughts."

_Trust me your attitude comes off loud and clear._

Phoenix glared at him over her shoulder. _Oh can it! I don't care how much you can sense my attitude._

_Out of curiosity how quickly can your moods change? You seem to just switch on whim._

_ Like you care and it'd be nice if you could not comment on my mood you heartless piece of…I can't come up with anything good. Damn._

_You're trying to insult me?_

_ No, I'm calling you names there's a difference._

_ I don't see it._ She saw Jace shake his head. He quickly had to explain the motion to the two people sitting with him. Phoenix crossed her arms over her chest. _Of course there's a difference. Insulting someone implies that you're trying to be mean and hurt their feelings. Calling someone names is something else entirely. People create nicknames for each other don't they?_

Jace glanced over his shoulder at her. _I guess. Yeah._

_ That's your difference right there._

_ I don't see how calling me a heartless piece of something isn't mean._

_ I call everyone a heartless piece of whatever comes to mind when they annoy me so for me it's not being mean. If I call you your name and I'm angry then you've really screwed up._ Phoenix nodded.

_Okay then. Why are you here?_

_ Because no one cares that I am._

_ You aren't a student which is how I'm going to assume you got in there._

_ And?_

_ So then why are you here? There has to be a reason other than you can cause no one cares that you are. I'm sure plenty of the teachers will care._

_ The librarian doesn't so whatever. The other teachers can eat dirt and sit on cacti for all I care._

_ That sounds…painful._

_ I certainly wouldn't want to sit on a cactus that's for sure. _

Jace bit his lower lip. _You're going to get me in trouble._

_ How would I get in you in trouble if I'm not even connected to you in any way? It's not like you opened the gates for me. I got here of my own free will._

_I'm not actually allowed to use magic outside of a set time period in a specific place so if I start laughing at nothing they're going to assume I'm using magic. Nothing I say will change their minds because I'm a telepath._

Phoenix nodded. _Oh. Well that makes sense. _She finished filling out the book and closed it. She put it back and wandered around that part of the library. _I'm leaving now. See ya._

_ How? _Jace glanced at her over his shoulder.

_There's a stair case that leads to the roof of the building in the very back._ Phoenix explained.

Jace's eyes widened. _Is protected by any spells?_

_ A simple alarm spell but getting through doesn't take much. A small disabling spell should be able to do the trick._ Phoenix smirked.

Jace turned away from her. _Thanks._

_ Have fun. _Phoenix left through said stair case. The building was two stories. The drop to the ground wasn't all that intimidating for her. Of course any other person that valued their lives and didn't have confidence in their ability to land would be scared witless but Phoenix didn't exactly think far enough ahead to consider the possible loss of life and was very confident in her ability to land the drop without breaking anything.


	13. Chapter 13

Chandra sat in a tree and watched Jace. _Okay so Kylle is apparently interested in Jace's combat abilities. But if he's trying to test Jace's abilities why does he watch him fight his brother. Okay he's not really fighting his brother because he hasn't even lifted a sword yet but he's learned to use a bow. He's definitely better at it than me. I can shoot a sniper and there's a fifty/fifty shot of me hitting my target. If I were to shoot a bow then I'd miss completely. _She sighed and rested her arms on a branch above her. She rested her chin on her arms and watched. _Kylle's a dick. I really don't like him. He's controlling and obviously resents Jace. He doesn't know any magic and the fact that both Jordyn and Jace can appears to unnerve him. Oh I get it. He's one of those stupid people that doesn't trust magic at all even if it's law magic. _She shook her head. _Well both of the girls can use magic too if what I've managed to pick up is correct. Honestly I'm not very good at identifying other people's magic. I'm not that kind of mage. I'm a fire mage… and an assassin but that's beside the point._

Jace shot Kylle a dark glare before storming off.

"Did you forget what happened last time?"

"Shut up," Jace snapped.

Chandra slid silently out of the tree and shot after him.

"What do you want?" Jace asked. He was sitting on the edge of the cliff that was nearby watching the water far below.

"Oh so you knew I was coming," she shrugged and sat down next to him, "I don't understand. Why does Kylle always have you fight your brother and then criticize you? He's never faced you. It doesn't make sense to me that he would do that."

"I don't know," Jace shrugged. He grabbed a nearby rock and dropped it into the cliff, "He's just a jerk."

She sighed, "Well yeah. I managed to gather that much."

"He's hated me for as long as he's known me," Jace muttered.

"And I'm going to assume you hate him because of that," Chandra concluded.

"If you had to put up with him every day wouldn't you?" Jace asked.

Her eyes narrowed. _It goes deeper than that doesn't it?_ "Alright. I won't pry then." She got to her feet, "I'm just going to say one more thing. A friend of mine once told me to look on the positive side of life. 'Maybe then the weight of the world will be lifted off your shoulders' or the weight of multiple depending on how you want to see it." She smirked.

Jace looked up at her, "What?" _Is she a planeswalker? Well you don't have to be one to know about other worlds. I'm proof of that much._

She turned and walked away without answering his question.

"Hey wait!" Jace got to his feet and started to follow her.

"Don't you have someone to prove something to?" She asked.

Jace blinked._ I do?_ "Oh! But what am I supposed to do?"

"You figure it out," she disappeared in a pillar of flames. _Sorry Markov but just watching him isn't going to keep him out of trouble. I've tried that and it didn't work so I'm just going to intervene when it's needed._ She returned to her tree. Jarvis was sitting under another tree and watching Kylle carefully. _I wonder what he'll come up with. It's probably going to be creative and humiliating for Kylle because that seems like something he'd do. _She returned to resting in her tree with her chin on her arms. She watched Kylle until Jace came back with Jordyn.

"Jace said that you can fight him," Jordyn said simply.

Kylle shook his head, "He's obviously not at my skill level yet."

Jace's eyes narrowed, "Try me."

Chandra smiled. _Uh-oh. Shit's gonna go down. Just don't destroy anything. That'd be bad since I'm currently sitting in a tree._

_I couldn't destroy anything if I tried._ Jace assured her. _The best I can do is illusions._

_Good. I don't plan on being splattered underneath a tree. That'd suck._

Jace bit his tongue to keep from laughing. _You're going to get me in trouble._

_ Well I haven't yet and I'm not changing so there._ She shook her head. _Another thing. Kick his ass._

Jace nodded.

"Very well, if he wishes to humiliate himself then so be it."

_Jerk. _Chandra's eyes narrowed. _You can't hate someone just because you're jealous. That's stupid. Then again it's human nature to get jealous. Of course a nice or considerate person wouldn't let that jealous ruin the possible relationship with said person. He's neither though since he's obviously perfectly willing to dumb Jace down._ She shook her head. "You're ego's not that important you prick." She watched Jace beat Kylle into a pulp using a bow and his magic. Kylle managed to slam Jace with his shield but Jace used a complicated and draining spell to make the landing smooth. _I didn't know you could create wings out of mana. That's kind of cool. Then they'd be able to be any kind of wings the caster wanted. That's awesome!_ She quickly turned her attention back to Jace. _I should probably be paying attention just in case if this gets out of hand._

Jarvis quickly intervened. Walls of white and orange flame rose up between them. Jace put up a magical shield and Kylle used his shield, "Alright. We're done."

"This isn't done until I say it is," Kylle snapped.

Jarvis' eyes narrowed flames sparked in his pupils as he looked at Kylle, "I said we're done. The goal wasn't to kill each other and that's exactly where this is headed."

Jace let every spell he had cast drop and set the bow on the ground. He turned and stalked away.

"You were told to learn to use swords," Kylle called.

Jace froze. He glared at Kylle over his shoulder, "I was told to learn to use weapons. The type was not specified."

"Archery won't help you in melee combat," Kylle snapped.

Jace turned to face him completely. His blue eyes burned with anger and intense hatred, "Piss off." He turned and continued walking away.

Chandra smiled. She followed him back to the house. She got there in time to hear him tell his mother to piss off for some reason. She slipped through the open window into his room. He opened the door and stared at her. He closed it quickly, "How'd you get in here?!"

"You left the window open," Chandra shrugged.

Jace glanced at the window and then his gaze returned to her, "If you stay here you really will get me in trouble. And would you get off my bed?"

"Oh relax." She slid off his bed and stood in front of him. He was taller than her but not by much, "You aren't going to get in trouble. I only stopped by to say good job."

"Good job? For what?" Jace asked.

"Kicking his ass," she smirked.

"You're actually encouraging that? I thought your job was to—"

"Oh shut up," Chandra snapped. Her eyes burned a bright orange, "It doesn't matter what my job is. I'll do what I want and I'm telling you good job for kicking his ass."

Jace shook his head, "Alright fine. Can you please leave now so I don't get in trouble?"

"Sure," Chandra rolled her eyes, "Since you asked so nicely." She slid out his window and back flipped onto the roof. _Jeez. Sure I was told to not let him know about that but that's kind of hard when he's a freaking telepath. I haven't spent enough time with Star to be able to defend against telepathy completely. I don't understand how the vampire expected me to be able to hide something like that. It was probably just so he could laugh at me. I'm so bored._ She lied down on her back and stared at the sky. It was late afternoon. _I'm taking a nap._ She curled up on the rooftop and closed her eyes.

* * *

**This story's going on hold until I finish my other two stories so it doesn't end up being terrible. Sorry.**


	14. Chapter 14

Phoenix met Jace on top of the library building. He used magic to get to the top without having to climb the side of the wall. She was sitting by the doorway, "It's through here." She motioned to the doorway, "There's a set of stairs leading down into the back and once you make the spell recognize you as being allowed through you won't have to do it again."

Jace's eyes narrowed, "They update the enchantments."

"They copy the enchantments. If you convince the enchantment that you're allowed to go through it then you won't have to do it another time," Phoenix said matter-of-factly.

"So that's how you really got in there," Jace nodded to himself.

Phoenix showed him how she had manipulated the enchantment and then walked past the doorway.

Jace's process was more complicated because he was a documented student of the school. Once the enchantment accepted him he grinned excitedly.

"So that's that," Phoenix shrugged, "However, Thursday nights the teachers are always organizing that part of the library so we should probably go now."

"But-"

"Hey, is someone there?"

Jace's eyes widened.

"Now!" Phoenix shoved him towards the edge of the roof. The two of them took off. Phoenix jumped off the roof the instant she got to the edge. Jace however took the time to cast the spell that created wings for him before jumping. She landed in a crouch with a thud and darted across the courtyard.

_Phoenix. Be careful. He's accidentally created a telepathic bond with you. He doesn't know about it and that makes it possibly dangerous._

Phoenix shook her head. _I'll worry about that later._ She scaled the wall that separated the school campus from the hills around it and waited for Jace, crouched in the shadows of the wall. It didn't take him long to catch up. She looked around before walking away, "Let's be a bit more careful next time. I don't think the consequences for being caught would be pleasant."

Jace nodded, "Okay." He wasn't nearly as argumentative about it anymore. He followed her back into the hills. Suddenly he cocked his head to the side, "You're fast."

"And?" Phoenix had taught herself the spell that augmented speed from watching him do it. She was not going to deny that it was helpful.

Jace shrugged indifferently, "Nothing really."

Phoenix rolled her eyes, "You are so...annoying."

"Then why are you here?" Jace asked.

Phoenix stuck her tongue out at him.

"Yeah alright," Jace nodded knowingly.

"You little shit," Phoenix snapped.

"That one's new," Jace looked at her in surprise, "How many 'names' do you create for people?"

"Depends on how annoying you are," Phoenix shrugged indiffferently.

Jace looked at her, "Seriously?"

Phoenix nodded, "Got a problem?"

"So...I must be really annoying?" Jace asked. He smirked, "About as annoying as you are?"

"I hate you," Phoenix snapped, "You are so infuriating."

Jace laughed, "Yeah? Good to know."

Phoenix sighed, "You've convinced the enchantment that it knows you so yeah. Just avoid Thursdays and you'll be fine."

"Avoid Thursdays?" Jace cocked his head to the side plotatively.

"Or just turn invisible and make sure none of the teachers see a randomly floating book in the air," Phoenix shrugged.

"Yeah," Jace nodded.

Phoenix felt malignant eyes watching them but wherever she looked she could see anything. She hissed through gritted teeth.

"You too huh?" Jace whispered.

Phoenix nodded, "Yeah. It's nasty." The feeling faded almost as quickly as it had appeared. Phoenix snarled softly, "Jace go home."

"But-"

"Now."

Jace's eyes widened and he cast a simple spell before taking off.

Phoenix sighed, "At least he listens when he needs to." She darted through the trees. _I swear he relies on his magic for everything. If he ever loses it he'll lose his mind. Oh well. That's not my problem._ She scouted the entire area outside the city and circled the city four times before finally believing the presence was truly gone. She sighed and climbed onto Jace's house's roof. This was pretty much where she lived when she didn't spend her nights just wandering around. _I cannot wait for this job to be done. I'm getting tired of looking after that stubborn shithead. _She closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep.

When she woke up Jace was already at school. She sighed and sat up. She stared up at the cloudy sky. The sun was nowhere to be seen behind the thick canopy of gray. "It's going to rain," she muttered in disgust. _And I'm stuck sleeping outside. _She got lazily to her feet and slid off the roof. She landed with a thud on the ground in a crouch. She wandered in the general direction of Jace's school. _I'm done. I'm beyond done. I'll tell Jace I'm leaving tonight and then I'll go tell that vampire to eat maggots. _When she got there she saw a streak of flames headed straight for one of Jace's companions. She stepped in front of the panicked brunette and absorbed the flames.

The fire mage that had thrown the flames stared at her in shock.

Jace cringed and stepped back. _What are you doing?_

_Helping your friend._ Phoenix smirked confidently and looked dead at the fire mage, "Is that the best you can do? Those flames didn't even burn."

Jace's eyes widened. _Are you picking a fight?!_

_Maybe. What of it?_ Phoenix's confident smirk remained on her face.

"I'm the most powerful fire mage at this school," he snarled.

Phoenix raised an eyebrow, "Seriously?" She put her hands on her hips, "Those didn't even tickle."

"You absorbed them," Erin stared at her.

"No one can do that," the fire mage snapped. He formed a gun with his fingers and pointed it at her. Flames leaped from his hands and formed a snake that slithered through the air towards her.

Phoenix smirked and let the snakes fangs sink into the skin on her neck. The flames felt soothing on her skin and flowed through her blood. Her eyes glowed with an inner light and the tips of her hair erupted into flames.

The fire mage stared at her. His face contorted in fear and horror, "You monster!"

"You want to see a monster?" Phoenix asked. Her eyes narrowed and flames sprouted at her feet, "Cause I can show the power of a monster."

Jace's eyes grew wider. _Don't! STOP! You're going to get in so much trouble! You're going to kill someone!_ He bit his lower lip and started to ease his way away from the confrontation.

"What's going on here?!" the law mage teacher snarled as he pushed through the crowd.

Phoenix turned to him. Her face was completely calm and the flames had died before the teacher ever saw them, "Hi."

Jace looked from her to the teacher and back again. _WHAT?!_

"You're not a student," the law mage looked her over.

"Nope," Phoenix shook her head. _It'd be nice if you could not scream in my head._

_Sorry. _Jace bit his lower lip again.

"Then how'd you get onto the grounds in the first place?" the teacher asked.

Phoenix rolled her eyes and flames sparked at her feet again. Her hair rose off her back and flames flicked at the ends. Her skin glowed bright orange and flames traced the lines on her face. "Maybe cause I can do this?" she let the flames die.

"So you're a mage. How are you not enrolled here?" the law mage asked.

"I didn't want to be and I'll be leaving tonight so I'm not going to bother," Phoenix shrugged. She put her hands on her hips and looked up at the large man contemptuously, "Anyway, as for your first question, that guy threw flames at that guy and that guy dodged and it was gonna hit her so, being a fire mage myself I stepped in between that girl and the flames and then he decided to start a fight so I intimidated the hell out of him and then you showed up and then we had this conversation and I will now be leaving." She spoke very quickly and motioned to each person as she brought them up.

_Was that one sentence? _Jace's voice echoed in her head.

_Yes._ Phoenix turned and started to walk away.

"Wait a moment," the law mage ordered.

"Sorry, I've got places to be," Phoenix didn't even turn to look at him, "and I certainly am not going to waste anymore time on you numbskulls." She winked at the brunette as she passed.

The girl stared at her and then smiled.

Phoenix smirked and continued to walk, ignoring the law mage's angered swearing at her back. Suddenly she found that she couldn't move. She felt someone probing through her mind. It definitely wasn't Jace and it wasn't Lucy. Her eyes narrowed and flames crawled along her skin. Her hair and eyes lit up brighter than ever, "Get out of my head."

"What is the real reason you are here?" a flat monotone voice asked.

Phoenix allowed the chaos of her anger fill her mind and the presence quickly retreated.

"What are you?" she asked in shock.

Phoenix whirled around, "I am chaos incarnate." She stared at the telepath with narrowed glowing orange orbs for eyes, "Got a problem?"

"So you're a monster?" the law mage asked.

"If that's how you want to see it then sure," the flames died quickly and Phoenix looked at them calmly. Her calm face was a façade. She _hated_ having someone poking around in her mind without her expressed permission. She put her hands on her hips and glared at them, "Besides, don't worry about me. I'll be out of your skin by tonight." She turned away and threw the last comment over her shoulder, "Oh yeah, and call me a monster one more time and I'll show you what a monster really is. Don't bother trying to hunt me down. You'll never find me."


	15. Chapter 15

Phoenix wandered the city for the rest of the day, deciding it was probably better that she stay away from Jace's school. She avoided Kylle as well. She had managed to hide her presence from him but wasn't sure how long that would last. Eventually she wandered back to Jace's house and took a nap on his roof.

When she woke up, it was late evening or early night. Jace sat next to her, staring up at the sky. He looked at her when he noticed she was awake, "You said you were leaving. Are you really?" He sounded more curious than anything else. He turned back to the sky.

Phoenix stuck out her tongue, "Yep." She sat up and looked at the sky, "I'm leaving tonight or tomorrow." _He's going to ask me where I'm going no doubt._ "Hey Jace?"

"Yeah?" he looked at her in surprise.

"Will you promise me something?"

"Maybe." His eyes narrowed, "What is it?"

Phoenix turned to look at him, "Will you promise me that not matter what happens in the future you'll hold your head high and live your own life?" Her orange eyes studied him carefully.

Jace blinked in confusion, "Why do you care?"

"Cause I'm tired of babysitting," Phoenix smirked.

"Babysitting?" Jace glared at her, "That's why you've been following me around this whole time?"

"That was my original reason but then I discovered how much fun it was to annoy you," Phoenix laughed.

Jace crossed his arms over his chest, "Whatever." His gaze returned to the sky.

"You never answered my question. Can you promise me that?" Phoenix insisted.

"Yeah," Jace nodded, "I don't really see why I wouldn't be able to."

"Trust me. Things get hard once you're on your own," Phoenix's eyes darkened for a moment. She smiled, "Great! I'll be gone before tomorrow night then."

"Where are you going?" Jace asked curiously.

Phoenix looked at him, "Elsewhere."

"More specifically," Jace insisted. He leaned forward expectantly.

Phoenix rolled her eyes. She got to her feet and looked at the sky, "I'm going to another world."

"I knew it! So you are a planeswalker!" Excitement glittered in his blue eyes, "Which one?"

"Haven't decided yet," Phoenix shrugged.

"How many are there?"

"That's a question that's better for Jarvis," Phoenix said.

"Well how many have you seen?" Jace asked.

"Not a lot honestly," Phoenix shrugged.

"How long ago did your spark ignite?" Jace continued throwing questions at her.

Phoenix rolled her eyes, "I swear. You question everything. My spark ignited when I was nine. I am now thirteen. Do the math."

"You're thirteen?" Jace asked in surprise.

Phoenix hissed under her breath, "Yes. How old did you think I was?"

Jace smirked, "Ten."

"You're just being difficult," Phoenix put her hands on her hips and let her eyes burn brightly as she looked down at him.

"And you know about Jarvis?" Jace ignored her.

Phoenix nodded, "And he knows about me."

"What's it like when a planeswalker spark ignites?" Jace cocked his head to the side.

"From what I've managed to figure out, even if you have one it won't ignite unless you're under a lot of emotional and mental stress," Phoenix looked at him and then looked away, "You know like being responsible for the deaths of your entire family. Or maybe you're being hunted for something you know you didn't do and you were found. Or maybe you're about to be executed for something. Stuff like that."

Jace stared at her with wide eyes, "That's not...um..."

"What you expected?" Phoenix looked at him. She sat back down and stared at the sky, "Being a planeswalker isn't all sunshine and rainbows. If people on the worlds know they could think of you as a monster or maybe they'll experiment on you to try and figure out what makes you what you are. The worlds are not particularly nice to people like that. Planeswalkers don't generally ally with each other unless something's bad. Not all of them are good and not all of them are nice."

As she spoke his eyes got wider and wider.

"Sure there's freedom and the ability to see all these worlds but there's danger and secrets. Your very existence is a secret," Phoenix looked dead at him. Her orange eyes burned with an inner light and flames flicked at the ends of her hair, "If you were a normal mage and you didn't know me what is the first word that would pop into your head when you saw me? I don't want you to try to think of something nice."

Jace swallowed, "Well...I don't know. I've known about planeswalkers for a long time and Jarvis was the first one I met. But you are kind of intimidating."

"Exactly," Phoenix shrugged and looked away, "I hear monster a lot. I wasn't kidding when I said I was chaos incarnate. I have accidentally burned more things than I care to count and I've accidentally killed more people than I've known." She looked back at Jace, "Wanting to be a planeswalker is fine. It's not all bad but you can't go into it thinking it's all good either or you will not survive your first planeswalk." She smirked, "There's a lot more freedom in the Multiverse. Yeah sure your existence has to be secret but the other secrets you keep are up to you. There's not much that can stop you from just doing whatever and getting out of trouble is as easy as picturing another world in your head and willing yourself to go there. I wouldn't recommend planeswalking when you're under stress though. Then you could lose control of it and die."

Jace shook his head, "Just the way you said that. 'You could lose control of it and die.' Wow."

"Hey," Phoenix punched him in the arm, "That is not what I sound like."

"Yes it is," Jace nodded.

"No it's not!" Phoenix insisted.

"Yes it is," Jace shot a challenging look.

Phoenix stuck out her tongue at him, "No it's not."

Jace rolled his eyes, "Whatever."

Phoenix sighed. "I'm leaving tomorrow so try to stay out of trouble," she rolled her eyes, "If you get in trouble I'll be sent back here and then I'll have to follow you around for the rest of your life." She got to her feet. She put her hands on her hips and leaned over him. Her eyes glowed and her hair burned brightly, "And if that happens I will annoy you. I will never leave you alone and you will never hear the end of how annoying and dull you are." She straightened and patted the top of his head, "Kay?"

"What was the head pat for?" Jace got to his feet and looked at her, "I am taller and older than you."

"And I'm the one that's been in charge of babysitting you," Phoenix smirked confidently, "Your argument is invalid."

"It is not!" Jace insisted.

"Is."

"Is not!"

"Is!"

"Is not!"

Phoenix crossed her arms over her chest, "Whatever."

"Hey," Jace stuck his tongue out at her, "Copy cat."

"Like you can talk," Phoenix shot him a challenging look.

Jace met her gaze confidently, "Fine." He sat back down, "So you're leaving by tomorrow night."

"I think I've told you this," her tone was sarcastically annoyed.

"No you haven't."

"Are you really going to start that up again?" Phoenix sat next to him and punched him in the arm.

"That hurt," Jace rubbed his arm for a moment, "and no."

"Really?" Phoenix rolled her eyes, "Whatever."

Jace snickered, "Yep."

Phoenix shook her head. She looked at him curiously, "You're not going to go out of the city tonight."

"Nah," Jace shook his head and laid down on his back, "I'm not going to lie. School was very, very boring without your smart comments."

"Are you saying you're going to miss me being a pain in your ass?"

Jace stuck his tongue out at her, "You are the only person that can bug and insult me just as much as I can bug and insult you. Everybody else takes it personally or it's just awkward."

Phoenix rolled her eyes, "Well if you are a planeswalker and you can find me," she shot him a challenging look, "then I can show you around."

"Really?" Jace asked in surprise.

Phoenix looked at him flatly, "No I'm lying. What do you think? You know I wouldn't offer something unless I meant it."

"Yeah," Jace shrugged, "I just didn't expect that from...anybody really."

"You'll have to find me first," Phoenix shrugged, "I'll make it easy for you too."

"That takes all the fun out of it," Jace looked at her dully, "If it's easy then it's boring."

"And if you never find me what's the point?" Phoenix shot back.

"Don't make it easy. Just make it...challenging, not impossible," Jace insisted.

Phoenix rolled her eyes, "Fine." She handed him a glass flower petal. Within the petal, gears turned and a blue light blinked.

Jace cocked his head to the side, "What is this?"

"It's a tracker. If you do planeswalk I'll know where you are the moment you land," Phoenix explained, "It was made by a friend of mine. Technically I was told to give it to you should I be called back for something more important than babysitting your sorry ass but I've decided that you're fine so I'm gonna go back now."

"Oh," Jace stuffed it into his pocket.

"Oh and don't lose that," Phoenix added, "It is worth more money than you can imagine. It's made with reinforced glass designed to not shatter. It could probably be sold on any black market for a ton of money."

Jace cocked his head to the side, "Seriously? But it's so tiny. How am I-"

"Just don't," Phoenix shrugged, "Put it on a chain or something."

"A necklace?" Jace asked.

"Or a collar if that's what you prefer," Phoenix shrugged.

"I don't know. I wear this jacket all the time," Jace shrugged.

"You won't," Phoenix said, "Trust me."

"Alright, I'll make a necklace out of it," Jace promised.

"See ya!" Phoenix got to her feet.

"Wait! You're leaving now?" Jace asked in surprise.

"What?" Phoenix shrugged.

"I don't know. I just thought you'd stay longer," Jace shrugged.

"No," Phoenix shook her head, "You've got that thing so I can find you when you get in trouble and you've made me a promise to live your own life. That's all I really need." She smirked, "It's not the end of the world. See you later." She jumped off the roof and slunk through the alleys towards the edge of the city. _And now I go back and get my face chewed off for abandoning the job but who cares. He's fine. He'll be fine. If he was a robot like that teacher then I'd worry and I'd stay but he just picks up what he needs and leaves the rest._

"You're back early," Wyvern commented.

Phoenix shrugged, "I got bored."

"Phoenix, that was a job," Wyvern sighed.

"So?" Phoenix shrugged, "What's the point of babysitting someone that doesn't need babysitting?"

"Maybe teaching you responsibility?" Wyvern suggested patiently.

Phoenix shrugged, "Oops. Responsibility went out the window."

Wyvern shook her head. Phoenix heard her mutter under her breath, "I give up."

Phoenix stuck out her tongue and flopped onto the nearest couch. There weren't a lot of people there. She assumed most of them were out on a job.

"I heard there was this chick rampaging on her world. Apparently she can manipulate the shadows to her whim."

Phoenix glanced at the two having the conversation. _Interesting._

_Phoenix. No. Dealing with her will be the job of one of the more experienced Lotuses. _

Phoenix hissed under her breath. She got to her feet and wandered through the halls of the building.

"Phoenix!" Echo hurried up to her, "Eclipse wants to talk to you."

Phoenix rolled her eyes and made her way to the vampire's room.

"Phoenix." He nodded to her. His eyes glittered with disappointment.

"You're going to yell at me for abandoning the job?" Phoenix assumed. She met the vampire's gaze evenly with a defiant gleam in her eyes, "And I'm going to tell you that I don't care. Eat maggots. He's fine."

Eclipse shook his head, "If that is your judgment then very well."

"Bye!" Phoenix darted out of the room.


	16. Chapter 16

"Oh c'mon. We'll be fine," Phoenix insisted. She had managed to convince Falcon and Hawk to help her investigate the rampaging woman she'd heard the other Lotuses talking about.

"We're going to be in so much trouble," Falcon repeated for the fortieth time.

Hawk shrugged, "She would've gone on her own anyway and probably would've died."

"Hey!" Phoenix snapped, "Don't talk about me like I'm not here and don't act like I can't hear you." Suddenly something slammed into her. Phoenix stumbled sideways and looked in shock. A pitch black arrow that she hadn't even seen was sticking out of Hawk's throat. She felt rage boil up within her as she heard a harshly cold laugh, "Falcon."

Falcon stared at his brother and then looked up at her. His eyes got wide as he saw her face. Her eyes were icy cold and her tone was calm as she said, "Take him back to Wyvern."

Falcon realized that she was angry. She was angry enough that she was cold. He wasn't sure whether or not fire mages were ever supposed to go cold when they go mad. He nodded quickly, deciding it was better to avoid questioning her, and disappeared.

Phoenix whirled around and faced the woman. Her long black hair fell past her waist and her green eyes glowed with unfettered universal hatred. Phoenix's eyes narrowed. Short swords slid into her hands from under her gauntlets, "And why'd you attack us when we weren't doing anything to you?"

"I wanted to," she smirked. Her black armor had a magical property that allowed her to fade into the shadows. Her magic also revolved around manipulating the shadows that already existed around her.

"You wanted to?" Phoenix hissed. She shot forward. Her opponent barely managed to dodge the unexpected attack. Phoenix slashed the woman's cheek. Blood dripped onto the ground. Usually the sight made the pyromancer sick to her stomach but in her rage she ignored the red liquid. She skidded and knocked the woman's knees out from under her. She slid past an arrow that would've hit her between the eyes and slammed one of her blades into the ground where the woman's head had been.

The other woman disappeared into the shadows around her.

Phoenix hissed and looked around.

"I'll admit you're good little girl."

"I'm not a little girl."

"You can't win," the woman appeared in front of her.

Phoenix smirked. Flames roared into a raging wall of bright flames around her. All the shadows around them disappeared.

"What the?" Her eyes widened in panic, "You can't do that!"

"Now we can play fair," Phoenix smiled.

Her eyes narrowed, "I'll kill you for this."

Phoenix smirked, "Try me."

Not it was her opponents turn to shoot forward to attack. She was still good even without the shadows to protect, conceal and strengthen her.

Phoenix had gathered as much information on this woman as possible. She was a teenager about a year older than her. Her name was Zara and her magic relied on preexisting shadows. She did not have the ability to create shadows on her own. She grabbed her arm and flipped, taking the brunette with her and slamming her into the ground. Zara wrapped her ankles around Phoenix's neck and pulled her down to the ground. Phoenix hissed and bit her leg. She reached into her boot and pulled a small knife out. That knife was shoved into Zara's thigh. Zara shot an arrow through Phoenix's arm which caused Phoenix to bite down harder on her leg but Zara didn't seem to notice. She knocked another arrow. Phoenix growled but refused to let go. Her eyes narrowed. She glared at the brunettes hateful eyes. The arrow flew and turned to fiery ash before it hit it's mark. Phoenix let go of her leg and pulled the knife out of her leg. She grabbed her hair and pulled her head back, revealing her neck. She pressed the knife against Zara's neck. Zara glared at her and shot an arrow into the redhead's abdomen. Phoenix stabbed her.

"That's enough!" Lightning streaked across a clear sky. Both of them froze and looked at the blond man glaring down at them. His eyes were cold with disapproval. Phoenix recognized Dragon and Lily standing behind him. She hissed, "And why should I?"

"This isn't your fight," Zara added.

"I can make it my fight if I have to," he warned.

Phoenix and Zara got to their feet and turned to face him standing side by side.

"Phoenix are you serious?" Lily asked.

"This isn't your fight," Phoenix snarled, "And I don't need your help with it."

"We're not here to help you. Wyvern sent us to stop you."

"All the more reason for me to be standing here. Don't get in my way."

Dragon swallowed. He had never seen the redhead like this and the sight was unnerving. Her eyes were icy cold and she was ignoring the fact that her abdomen had an arrow sticking out of it and was bleeding.

The blond man gritted his teeth, "If that's the way you kids want it." He shot forward, faster than lightning. The flames blocking out the shadows fell and Zara disappeared. Phoenix shot sideways and grabbed his wrist. Using his own momentum against him, she flung the much larger man into a nearby tree. Arrows flew towards both of them. The blond blocked them while Phoenix weaved through them. She pulled Zara back by her long hair. She proceeded to use the brunette as a human shield against the his lightning. Zara grabbed Phoenix by the back of her head and flipped her into the ground. In the same motion she fired off three arrows at her other opponent. Phoenix knocked her legs out from under her and threw flames at him while she pinned her down.

Dragon and Lily exchanged glances, "Should we intervene?"

Lily glanced at the fight and shook her head, "I think intervening is a death wish."

Dragon followed her gaze and nodded, "Yeah but the three of them aren't going to get anywhere."

"You're immune to lightning so have fun," Lily shrugged.

Dragon glanced at her, "You're less likely to accidentally hit something other than your target."

"I'm not getting in the middle of _that_ train wreck," Lily shook her head.

"I'm not either."

"So let's sit back and enjoy the show."

"Well Wyvern did tell us to bring Phoenix back," Dragon reminded the other half dragon.

"So?" Lily asked.

"She's gonna be pissed if we don't," Dragon continued, "and I for one don't plan on facing her wrath. C'mon she's half dragon half angel. I'm not suicidal."

"Good point," Lily nodded. She glanced again at the ensuing battle in front of them, "Might as well bring bow girl in too."

Dragon nodded.

The two dragons proceeded to join in the battle. Even with the two of them in the battle it still took quite some time to bring Phoenix and Zara down.

Lily ducked under flames and shot at the brunette while Dragon struggled to hold Phoenix still. She quickly grabbed Zara's arm and wrestled her to the ground. Her grip on her quickly slipped and an arrow cut deep into her shoulder. Phoenix bit Dragon hard enough to make him bleed and elbowed him in the jaw. Storm, the blond, shot lightning at the two of them. The half dragons were used as shields. Phoenix slid past Dragon as he whirled around to try to get her again and shot at Storm. Zara came up behind her, leaving Lily stunned.

Suddenly a bright flash of light lit up the area, temporarily blinding all of them. Wyvern dropped in the middle of the fight and Eclipse walked up a moment later. Wyvern's eyes glittered with anger and harsh disapproval. Eclipse's expression wasn't much different. He stopped but his voice remained calm, "Phoenix."

"Can it," the redhead snapped, "You can't tell me what to do."

"I was going to suggest seeing Hawk," Eclipse shrugged indifferently, "but if you'd rather not then that is your choice. I will tell you that he wants to see you."

Phoenix's expression changed instantly. All her rage melted in an instant.

"And once you've finished seeing him go to Wyvern," Eclipse's voice hardened into a definite order.

_I'm in deep, deep trouble. _Phoenix disappeared. Eclipse nodded to Storm Dragon and Lily and looked Zara over. He sighed, "You might as well come with us also."

Zara glared at him, "I know who you are."

"And I know who you are," Eclipse nodded, "You are Zara, The Wraith of Bloodcult."

"You're Eclipse. Crimson Eclipse and leader of the Black Lotus," Zara hissed, "Why would you invite me directly into your headquarters."

"We have a telepath that can alter your memory should you decide to return to Bloodcult," Eclipse shrugged.

"You'll stay out of my head."

"And should you choose to stay," Eclipse continued as though she hadn't spoken, "Then you'll be given your own special name."

"Why would I?" Zara snarled.

"Companionship," Eclipse shrugged again, "Family. Friends, someone to always watch your back. Something to fight for. Those are just some things."

Zara reluctantly followed the vampire and the others to the extradimensional space the Lotus called home.

Wyvern instantly broke off from the group and Zara heard heated protesting to medical treatment that eventually fell silent.

Phoenix followed Wyvern into another room and sat impatiently on the table, "Look, sorry but I was bored."

"You being bored is not a reason to put any of the others in danger!" Wyvern snarled. She started wrapping Phoenix's abdomen in bandages.

Phoenix rolled her eyes, "Well I sure as hell wouldn't have been able to do it myself. Besides, danger comes with the territory."

"Hawk's probably never going to speak again," Wyvern hissed.

"And you're going to blame his choice to take the arrow for me on me?!" Phoenix shot back angrily.

"If you are going to be in charge of a group then you have to understand that they are your responsibility," Wyvern shot Phoenix a venomous look, "or they will die. You put _yourself_ in charge of that disaster the moment _you_ convinced them to go with you."

"It wasn't a disaster!" Phoenix hissed, "Hawk isn't dead. I sent Hawk and Falcon away the moment he got hit!"

"And then you lost all control," Wyvern reminded her harshly.

"Well if someone messes with my friends that's their fault and they'll take the consequences."

"The consequence can't be death every time!" Wyvern raised her voice.

"Like it would be!" Phoenix retaliated.

"And if you lose control again? The same way you did today? You would have killed her and you would have killed Storm, Lily and Dragon."

"I would not have!"

"Phoenix," Wyvern's voice grew dangerously quiet, "you would have and you know that in your heart. You can't deny it when it's written plainly on your face that you knew you would have. And worse in the moment it wouldn't have matter. Or am I wrong?"

Phoenix hissed angrily, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Phoenix," Wyvern's voice rose again. She took a deep breath, "Fine. I'll give you some time to think about it." She grabbed the redheads arm and dragged her through the hallways. She led Phoenix into a room made entirely of lead and left her there with the door closed and locked from the outside. Zara was also in there. Phoenix sat in the corner and glared at the wall.

"So you got thrown in here too?" Zara sounded utterly defeated.

"What the hell happened to you?" Phoenix asked, "It's like all your spunk's just gone."

"I don't really have anything to live or fight for anymore. My _whole _purpose was revenge. I wanted to get revenge for what everyone had done to me and the people I cared about and without that I don't have anything."

"Oh," Phoenix sighed, "I just got my ass chewed off because I lost control. I thought the knew that I was a chaotic person."

"There's chaotic and there's you," Zara said.

"Thanks a million," Phoenix snarled.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way," Zara sighed, "I just think you should probably work on not losing control like that."

"Then maybe you should think about what you're going to live for now," Phoenix shot back.

"Only if you do work on trying to not get _that angry _again," Zara promised.

"You're serious?" Phoenix asked.

Zara shrugged, "What else am I supposed to do? I don't have anything left."

"Then it's a deal," Phoenix shrugged, "I'll control my temper if you find something to fight for."

"What is there to fight for?" Zara asked sadly.

"Everything," Phoenix shrugged.

Zara looked at her. The two of them were sitting on opposite corners of the room, "Everything?"

"Well everything you know to be right," Phoenix shrugged.

"And if I don't know what's right anymore?"

"You wouldn't be this crushed if you didn't," Phoenix shrugged.

"And what about you? You're obvious not an angry killing machine. What makes you snap?"

"You hurt one of my friends so I was going to repay the favor," Phoenix looked away from her.

"And you fought your comrades to that end?" Zara asked.

"Well, I didn't know the blond-"

"Don't make excuses Phoenix," Zara shook her head, "It's what happened and making excuses is what got me into all of this."

"I guess."

"If you're making excuses you can't keep your promise to me," Zara added.

Phoenix nodded, "Alright. No more excuses."

"And no more sulking," Zara crawled over to her. The brunette was covered in bandages and obviously didn't feel like standing. She held out her pinkie finger to Phoenix, "Promise?"

Phoenix nodded and wrapped her pinkie around hers, "Promise."

Zara nodded, "God damn. You kicked my ass."

"Sorry?" Phoenix shrugged, "You're not the only one that's in hell."

Wyvern opened the door to the lead room many hours later. The two girls were curled up asleep. She clearly remembered them being on opposite sides of the room when she had shoved Phoenix in but now Phoenix's head was resting on Zara's shoulder and Zara had her arm wrapped around the redhead's shoulders. Wyvern shook her head, "They were beating the hell out of each other just this morning. I'm amazed at how quickly that girl's opinion of people can change." She left the door open but left them in the room.


	17. Chapter 17

Phoenix sighed. She was stuck in the lead room...again. She had gone on another mission without asking and without checking. She'd almost been killed and had to be rescued and now she was stuck in a lead room. Zara had joined the Black Lotus Assassins and now had the code name Shadow. Phoenix didn't understand the point of the names but they did sound kind of cool. She also assumed that the vampire had a list that he chose from because no two Lotuses had the same name. She couldn't have come up with all of these that was for sure. She sat against the wall and growled, "Dragon! Let me out!" She knew that yelling at him or asking him or anything else wasn't going to work because Wyvern intimidated the hell out of him and it was her that had posted him as guard.

"Sorry, Princess," Dragon responded. He sounded like he genuinely felt bad for her but he also wasn't going to go behind Wyvern's back to let her out.

The glass flower petal in her pocket vibrated and beeped. Phoenix's eyes widened. _No! Jace not now! I hate your timing. _"Dragon I need you to let me out! I need you to let me out now!"

"Sorry, I can't. Wyvern said no," Dragon had obviously sensed her change in tone.

Phoenix got to her feet and started to pace. _But I can't do anything in here. I promised he'd be able to find me! I promised I'd be on the world he landed on. _"Dragon let me out!" She slammed her fist into the door. It dented. "I need to get out! I have a promise to keep!" The device wrote the word Ravnica in the air in front of her, "Ravnica. Damn." She hit the door again, "Dragon! LET ME OUT!"

"Wyvern said no. I'm sorry."

Phoenix felt her rage beginning to boil over, "I need to keep my promise!"

"What'd you promise and to who?" Dragon asked, "If I know that I might be able to convince her to let you out."

Phoenix already had an escape plan in mind. Her denting the door had revealed part of the magnet that held it closed. If she could get Dragon away long enough then she might be able to fit a knife in between the magnets and open the door. "You remember how I was told to look after that telepath. I promised him that if he planeswalked I'd show him around. I can't do that if I'm locked up in here." _I'm not going break any promise I make. I won't. _She found herself fidgeting as she waited for him to respond.

"I can try Pyro but I make no promises alright?" Dragon asked.

Phoenix gritted her teeth, "Fine." She listened to him walked down the stairs. She quickly kneeled down and pulled a knife out of her boot. She had a habit of accidentally borrowing weapons and anything else really and never giving them back. She slid the knife between the two magnets and pulled the door open just enough that she could squeeze out. Suddenly she was very glad she was so small. The fact that she had previously dented the door made it very difficult to open. The moment she was out of the room she left and landed on Ravnica. _Okay, first let's find him so I can be sure he'll find me. And make sure he's not dead. That'd be nice to._ She rolled her eyes, "I should really think about the promises I make before making them."

"Make sure he won't remember the fact that she ever existed."

"Of course," Phoenix recognized Star. Sheh crouched on an overhang and watched. Jace was unconscious in an alley. Standing around him were Star a man she didn't recognize and the same woman that had healed her after she'd been poisoned.

"Clearing his entire past isn't necessary Tezzeret," the woman put her hands on her hips angrily, "He won't remember anything."

"Making him much more malleable. I thought you'd like that Lilianna," he sneered.

Phoenix's eyes narrowed. _Star what are you doing?_

_My job, Phoenix, is infiltration. In order to do that they have to believe that I am on their side._

Phoenix hissed. She felt anger boil up inside of her. She turned and climbed high up the building she was hiding on. She disappeared into an alley and stormed down it onto a main street. She chose a direction at random and walked. People skirted around her as she walked past. She sighed and slid into an alley. She made sure it was completely empty before planeswalking. She ended up in a grassy field.

With no one around to get hurt by her flames she sent a wave of them flying out around her before flopping onto the ground. Where she expected the ground to be blackened ash flowers actually bloomed when they caught on fire. Phoenix cocked her head to the side and stared at the field around her. Bright orange flowers bloomed amongst the still green grass.

"That's definitely unexpected."

Phoenix whirled around, "Who're you?"

"Whoa," he put up his hands in a non-threatening manner, "I'm Gideon. You?"

"Ph-Chandra," she turned away from him. She laid on her back and stared at the sky. The sun was setting on this world. The sky was dyed the color of flames. She sighed, "What do you want Gideon?"

"I was actually investigating this field because according to the information w-I have it's magical. Thanks for helping me out," Gideon sat next to her.

Chandra glared at him, "You're welcome. Don't expect it to happen again."

"I won't," Gideon nodded, "You should probably try to control those flames of yours before someone gets hurt by them."

"Too late," Chandra shrugged indifferently.

"Why don't you try to control it if someone's already been hurt?" Gideon asked.

Chandra gritted her teeth. She sat up and glared at Gideon, "Why should I? I do what I can to make sure that the people I care about aren't caught in my flames. Everyone else can burn."

"Chandra that's not cool. Other people have lives and people that care about them," Gideon chided.

Chandra hissed through gritted teeth, "Look, Gideon." She glared at him with burning orange eyes, "You have your values and I have mine. I don't care for yours and you obviously don't care for mine. Stop pushing them on me or you'll be the next one turned to ash."

"I'm not trying to push my ideals on you. You're a fire mage-"

"Don't group me!" Chandra got to her feet and stormed off. _Everybody. I swear. 'You're a fire mage.' That's all I ever am. A fire mage. That's it. That's all anyone ever sees. So because of my abilities I get dumbed down? That's stupid. It's stupid. _

"You look annoyed."

Chandra gritted her teeth, "Hi."

"Hi," a pink haired young girl sat next to her. She looked about sixteen. Her shoulder length hair was pulled into two ponytails and each ponytail had a bow. Her blues eyes glittered warmly, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Chandra sighed, "That's a lie." She started pulling grass out of the ground. The flowers were closing now. She flopped onto the ground next to the girl, "People just piss me off."

"What happened?" she looked away suddenly, "If you don't mind my asking."

"Not really," Chandra shrugged. _Like I care. _"I joined this group of people and my first job was to look after a telepath. I told that if he ever planeswalked I'd find him and show him around." _She probably doesn't know what a planeswalker is but whatever. _"Well he did but I was in trouble so that kept me from getting to him before someone else did. That someone else had a telepath that's also a part of this group clear his memories. All of them. I can't understand why she would just so she could convince those stupid people she was on their side. It's stupid."

"Well that does sound annoying. But if you've gotten in trouble then they'd be unlikely to listen to you. They probably spent their time thinking of a way to help him themselves instead of allowing you to. Just because they get in your way doesn't mean that they mean ill for you and your friend."

"He's not a friend," Chandra corrected, "He's an annoying telepath that I was told to look after."

"If he wasn't a friend would you have made that promise?" the girl asked.

Chandra paused, "I guess not."

"Just because he doesn't remember doesn't mean you don't remember him. You remember the promise you made him. If you meet him again, sure you'd have to build the friendship all over but you can still keep your promise."

"I don't think so. There was something about the situation that seemed off."

"Then you can still protect him," the girl suggested, "You were told to look after him. Keep him out of trouble right?"

Chandra nodded.

"Then even if he doesn't know you're there you can still do that."

"You're wise for being sixteen," Chandra muttered under her breath.

"I'm on my own a lot so I have a lot of time to think."

"Why are you on your own?"

"My sister's always working and my brother's at school all the time," she shrugged.

"Are they both older than you?"

She nodded, "Yeah."

"Oh."

"I'm Saerris by the way," she smiled and got to her feet.

"Chandra," Chandra stood next to her.

A roar drowned out whatever Saerris said. Chandra looked up. A dragon circled above them. It landed on the outer edge of the field and breathed fire at them. Chandra stepped in front of Saerris and absorbed the flames.

Saerris had an interesting looking bow in her hands when Chandra turned to make sure she was okay.

"You're gonna help beat that thing up?" Chandra asked.

Saerris nodded, "I've definitely faced scarrier."

Chandra nodded. She shot towards the dragon. She knew it was more than likely immune to fire so she used a sword. She knew it wouldn't be effective against the scale but a sword to the eye really hurt. Saerris fired magically charged arrows at it while Chandra darted past it. She augmented her speed and shot up it's tail and body to it's head. She saw Gideon was not helping Saerris. He wrapped the torso of the dragon in a three bladed whip that was attached to one of his gauntlets. The dragon lifted into the air before circling around and landing again. Chandra stabbed it in both it's eyes and then leaped off it's head. She landed with a roll on the ground and created a phoenix. The phoenix flew at the dragon. Using claws sharper than steel it tore at the dragon's back. The dragon roared and caught the bird in it's strong jaws. Chandra smirked, "Perfect."

Gideon realized what she had done. It was ingenious. She had gotten the dragon to bite the phoenix so that the flames would burn the inside of it's body instead of sliding ineffectively along it's scales. The bird dispersed into flames and the dragon's mighty roar turned to a bellow of agony. She shot forward as it's jaws stretched wide. Instead of letting the creature die in agony she took the sword and plunged it straight through the roof of the dragon's mouth, killing it quickly.

"That was great," Saerris healed what little wounds the two of them had. She hadn't been touched but had also kept to a distance.

"That was ingenious," Gideon sounded like he was surprised.

Chandra turned a steely gaze on him, "And I'm not capable of coming up with an 'ingenious' idea just because I'm a fire mage?"

"That's not-"

"Can it," Chandra snapped.

Gideon fell silent.

"What you meant doesn't matter," Saerris said before Chandra could speak. It got her a glare out of the redhead but she ignored it, "How the other person takes it will dictate whether or not the conversation or altercation goes as intended."

Chandra crossed her arms over her chest.

Gideon nodded, "I apologize then. I didn't realize that you might not appreciate-"

"The unnecessary commentary on how I live my life?" Chandra punched him in the arm, "Look Gideon. If you want to be my friend that's fine." She put her hands on her hips and glared at him, "Just know that I don't need a stuck up knight telling me how to live my life. Treating me like a damsel will make it so you're the one that needs rescuing got it?"

Gideon nodded. He rubbed his arm, "That hurt."

"It was supposed to," Chandra smirked. She turned and began to walk away, "See ya." She paused, "Oh and Gideon."

"Yes?" Gideon asked.

"I still don't want a lecture on how people have lives. If they get in my way that's their fault. I do my best but that's all. If they can't meet me halfway I won't bother walking the extra distance," she disappeared in a pillar of flames. She rolled her eyes as she wandered around Ravnica. _I swear. Everybody's a freaking knight now. It's so stupid. I don't need rescuing and I don't need looking after. I just want to live my life without people bugging me. That's all really. But because people don't like the way I live my life they don't like it._


	18. Chapter 18

"Hey Gideon," Chandra smirked and jumped off the roof to land next to him. She had long since figured out he was a planeswalker. She found him on a different world every time she found him.

"Chandra," Gideon looked surprised, "Um...can you not go leaping off roofs at me?"

"But just walking is _boring_!" Chandra sighed. _I swear he's still so controlling and definitely boring. He's boring as sin. AGH!_

"Just walking will keep you out of trouble," Gideon pointed out.

"I haven't gotten in trouble with anyone but you," Chandra snapped.

Gideon sighed. She knew he had long since given up on trying to get her to abide by even some of the rules that existed. Chandra had stayed in this city, annoying Gideon and following him around, since she'd arrived on this world. She didn't feel like going back to the Black Lotus. The two of them spent a lot of time hanging out with Saerris as well. The pinkette often met them outside her house and the three of them spent plenty of time together. Gideon often tried his very best to keep the two, slightly more carefree, girls out of trouble. Chandra often ignored him. Saerris just laughed along. Chandra excelled at getting out of trouble. The city had long since become accustomed to the groups endeavors.

"Oh come on. Don't be so boring," Chandra sighed and followed Gideon into a beaded jewelry shop. She picked up a necklace, "Ooh pretty."

"Chandra, put that down please," Gideon asked.

"But it's pretty," Chandra smirked.

"You don't have the money to buy it," Gideon pointed out.

Chandra stuck out her tongue and set it back down. _Jeez. I'm not a very good thief so I don't see why I would just hijack it. Of course then again I might. I might be a terrible thief but practice makes perfect right? _She glanced around and made a sour face. _Never mind. Not here anyway. _

Gideon talked to the shop owner. Apparently he was doing an investigation.

"So what are we looking for?" Chandra asked as she followed him out of the store.

"If you're helping me we're investigating a string of jewelry shop robberies," Gideon explained.

"Okay," Chandra nodded. She glanced around, "And we're doing that just by talking to people?"

"We're getting every witnesses description of the person they saw doing it. If they're similar enough then we can assume it's the same person. If they aren't then it's more than likely separate people."

"Alright," Chandra nodded. She gave Gideon a confident look and slipped into the nearest alley.

"Chandra!"

"Continue with your investigation," Chandra shoved him back out onto the main street, "And I'll meet you in front of that big statue in the plaza." She darted into the back of the alley. It didn't take long for her to find a group of thugs in the darker side of town. They were harassing a young woman probably around twenty. Chandra slid quickly between them and her, shoving the woman back, "That's enough. I need you maggots to answer some questions for me so it'd be great if you could focus entirely on that."

The woman quickly left now that Chandra had intervened and was picking a fight.

"Maggots?" the biggest one snarled, "Boys teach this little brat a lesson."

"If you can catch me," Chandra smirked.

"You scared Girlie?"

"What is there to be afraid of?" Chandra shrugged. She ducked under the first one's swing and back flipped, kicking him in the chin. She landed and spun, knocking his feet out from under him. He fell into his buddy. She shot forward and drove her foot into another guy's side. She cartwheeled and rolled under another's swing. She shot towards the one in front of her. She used fire to boost her power and speed and slammed her fist into his gut.

The leader quickly called his minions off. He walked up to her and leaned over her. He grinned in a slightly menacing way. Chandra responded by punching him in the nose. He stumbled back and shook his head.

Chandra put her hands on her hips, "Now. Are you going to answer my questions or no? Because if not I think I'll drag your unconscious bodies out onto one of the major streets and let the city guard pick you up." She smirked, "Oh and intimidating me won't work."

"Alright what do you want?" the leader hissed.

"There's been a string of robberies lately and I want you to tell me everything," she let her eyes glow brightly and her hair caught on fire. Her entire body glowed as flames flicked along her skin, "And I mean everything."

They all stared at her in shock, fear and horror.

"Well?" Chandra prompted impatiently, "My patience with you is already thin."

"Well I know that there's been this woman that's been recruiting the thugs in the city," the leader said quickly.

"Have you been recruited?"

"No."

"Why not? If she can get the thugs in the city she must be paying well," Chandra allowed the impatient annoyance to remain in her voice.

"The thugs that she recruits seem to be under some sort of spell. They will do anything she tells them to."

"Alright, so tell me about the jewelry shops that have been targeted. What's so special about them?"

"The jewelry shops we've heard about all carry mundane as well as magically enhanced jewelry."

Chandra cocked her head to the side, "Alright. Anything else I need to know? And if you're keeping something from me I will know." She glared at each one of them individually before glaring at the entire group.

"The woman lives in a castle just outside of town," one thug said, "and everyone of her thugs that I see have blue eyes."

"Blue eyes?" Chandra cocked her head to the side, "All of them? Did they have blue eyes when you knew them?"

"Not all of them. Not most of them even."

Chandra nodded, "Alright. Now," she allowed flames to leap to life at her feet, "You are going to help repair the shops that have been damaged and give your strengths to something other than being heartless greedy dickheads. And if you decide to ignore me I will find you." She smiled and all the flames died. The glow in her orange eyes faded, "Kay?"

All of them nodded quickly.

Chandra turned and skipped out of the alley. She waited at the statue impatiently. _C'mon Gideon. Hurry up Gideon. Gideon! Let's go! _She scanned the plaza again. She saw Saerris walking up to her, "What's up?"

"I'm waiting for Gideon. We're investigating a string of jewelry shop robberies."

"Can I help?" Saerris asked.

"Sure," Chandra nodded. She smiled, "Can you go find Gideon? He's not here yet and it's frustrating me."

"Alright," Saerris nodded. She jogged away.

Chandra waited for many more moments. She flopped onto the ground and started throwing lose pebbles at the statue. _HURRY UP!_ She glanced at the clock tower that sat in center of the plaza. Five minutes had yet to pass. Chandra felt like she was dying slowly and painfully. Finally her two friends walked up. She leaped to her feet, "There you are!"

Gideon quickened his pace to a jog, "I didn't get anything."

"I got plenty but here's not the place to talk about it," Chandra looked around. She could see thugs starting to creep ever closer to their location from all sides. Every single one of them had sapphire colored eyes that had a kind of glow. She hissed through gritted teeth, "Knew it." She led her two friends quickly out of the plaza and out of the city entirely. She could just barely see the castle in the distance. It looked broken down and abandoned but underneath the projected image she could see thugs repairing it's walls and setting a roof. The castle was almost completely repaired. Chandra was suddenly very glad she had learned to see through illusions. She turned to her friends, "Someone's interested in magical jewelry."

"Are you sure?" Saerris asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Is the source of this information reliable or are they leading us into a trap?" Gideon asked flatly.

"It's been proven correct," Chandra snapped, "In the plaza we were subtly being converged on by thugs from all sides. All of them, and I mean all of them, had blue eyes. That's exactly what I was told."

"How?" Saerris asked.

"If I had a guess I'd say mind control," Chandra shrugged. She pointed to the castle in the distance, "Whoever is controlling the thugs is in there."

"It's broken down and ruined," Gideon said.

"No it's not," Chandra shook her head, "Not anymore. The image you see is an illusion."

"And illusion? That's a powerful illusionist then," Saerris swallowed nervously.

"I'm going to find out who it is," Chandra stated confidently.

"Not alone you're not," Gideon's voice was hard.

"Okay," Chandra shrugged, "If you want to come along go ahead but I won't make you."

"C'mon. We've done things together. Why'd we split up now?" Saerris asked.

Chandra led the way to the castle. Their approach had obviously been expected. Thugs ran out to meet them. Flames swept through the unorganized ranks of thugs.

"Don't kill them if they're being controlled," Gideon ordered.

Chandra rolled her eyes. "Sorry but I'm not good at sparing people," she muttered under her breath. She was the first to make it to the castle. She crouched close to the wall and listened to the voices she heard inside.

"I don't understand why I have to control them. We're sending them to their deaths."

"Jace, they wouldn't do as they're told unless we controlled them." Chandra recognized the overly sweet voice. She couldn't remember the woman's name or if she ever got it but she remembered hearing that voice a long time ago. She waited impatiently for Gideon and Saerris. When they caught up to her she interrupted the conversation by blowing a hole in the newly repaired castle wall.

Jace whirled around to face the wall that explode. Chandra smirked. She put her hands on her hips and looked around. She saw three people. Jace, a brunette and a fire mage. She grinned, "We're evenly matched."

"Numbers wise," Gideon told her, "That doesn't mean we're evenly matched as far as power level goes."

"Jace leave," the brunette ordered.

"He stays here," Chandra countered.

Jace glanced from Chandra to the brunette and back again. He took a step back.

Chandra shot forward and grabbed the back of his collar. She slammed him into the ground.

"Baltrice!" The brunette snarled, "Fine." She got to her feet and pink-ish purple lines began to glow on her skin. Gideon readied his sural.

Chandra let Jace get to his feet, "You're the one that's controlling them aren't you?"

"So what if I am?" Jace snapped. He tried getting into her head.

Instantly flames rose on the ground around her.

His eyes widened and he stepped back. He shook his head and just managed to dodge her attack. Chandra enveloped him in flames and then pushed against the resistance he gave. The fire took the form of a giant bird and slammed him high into the wall. Jace fell to the ground. Suddenly there were seven Jaces. Chandra snarled, "I don't like you." She shot straight forward. She saw "the wall" shift as she flew at it. She smirked and twisted. The invisibility spell fell as he realized she had figured him out. She hit him in the jaw with her boot. He turned it into a cartwheel and a sphinx flew at her. Chandra squeaked as she was flung into the wall by a strong paw. _Okay. _Chandra landed in a crouch. Pain shot up her side. Jace had a look of mixed surprise and confidence on his face. The sphinx pounced at her. Chandra augmented her speed and shot towards Jace.

"Jace get out of the way!" The warning came to late. Chandra hit him full force. She enveloped herself and therefore him in flames. He put up a shield but that didn't stop her from knocking him through the castle wall. He tumbled into the overgrown courtyard. Chandra walked out after him. Suddenly she couldn't move and felt his presence in her mind again. Anger boiled up within her and her hair turned to flames. Jace was trying to put her to sleep but couldn't hold her mind long enough. Her hair and eyes went cold. Jace's eyes widened in shock and he pulled out. He put up a shield that was pretty much impenetrable. Chandra didn't care. She still attacked him. He managed to hold it until her attack eased off. _This isn't working. _The sphinx knocked her into the castle wall and she fell to the ground. It took her a moment to get back to her feet. That moment was all Jace needed. He held her still and images flashed in her mind, confusing and psychedelic. A cry of pain cut through the images. _Saerris. _Chandra pushed past Jace's holding presence in her mind and shot back into the castle. She protected her friend from a cat made entirely of fire as it leaped at her.

"We need to go!" Gideon called.

Chandra glanced at him and then at her unconscious friend. Saerris was bleeding from a wound on her head and had many burns, mostly on her arms and upper torso. Chandra looked at Gideon, "Go!"

Gideon shook his head at her as he barely managed to block a blow from another zombie. Chandra hissed, "Gideon I said GO!" Her eyes glowed in frustration and rage. She saw Jace hovering in the hole he had left in the wall when she had knocked him through it. He looked shocked. Baltrice leaped at Chandra. The redhead barely managed to get out of the way. A knife slid into her hands and she sliced through the other fire mages cheek. The solid steel-like claws of a firecat sliced down the side of her face. Blood dripped onto the ground, attracting the attention of some of the zombies. She clenched her teeth. _Jace. Help me. Please. Tell Gideon he needs to wrap Saerris in a protective shield. Please Jace. I can tell by your face that this isn't what you want. Help me fix it._ Chandra hoped she reached him. Fire started rising from the ground around her. Jace's eyes glowed for a split second and Saerris was wrapped in a white glow. Gideon then protected himself. Chandra allowed her fire and her rage to overwhelm her and the entire castle came collapsing down around them. She felt Jace and his two companions' presences fade as they planeswalked. She collapsed as the flames died around her.


	19. Chapter 19

Chandra opened her eyes to a familiar ceiling. She sat up quickly. Her head spun and she dug her hand into the couch to steady herself. The room was currently empty except Gideon, who was leaning against the door jamb and Saerris who was still unconscious on the other couch. Chandra sighed and got to her feet. She walked over to Gideon, "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Gideon shrugged. He looked around, "Do you have any idea where we are?"

Chandra looked around, "Well, it's basically an inn. It's just not on the world we were just on."

"Oh," Gideon looked around, "And we're the only ones here why then?"

"Because this is a...hidden level. It's an inn but it's also a guildhall," Chandra explained vaguely.

"Oh," Gideon nodded, "Alright."

_Phoenix. Come here._

Chandra rolled her eyes, "I'll be right back. I'm gonna go look around." She wandered through the hallway without giving Gideon a chance to argue.

_I'm going to have to wipe his memory._

_You're not wiping me from it. _Chandra hissed through teeth gritted in anger. _If you hadn't wiped me from Jace's mind none of that would've been as bad as it was. _

_Phoenix I-_

"You can wipe this place and the guild's existence but you will _not _remove me from his memory," Chandra snarled. She found Star in a room with Eclipse. She fixed both of them with an enraged glare, "What do you want?"

"Actually we were going to offer you a job," Star said, "but it doesn't seem like you're open to the idea."

Chandra shrugged, "That depends. Will you honor my request? Keep me in Gideon's memory and I'll think about it."

"You really do play by your own rules don't you," Star sighed. She looked at Eclipse. He nodded, "Gideon keeps his memories of you. But Saerris won't be able to stay in his memory."

Chandra growled, "Why not?"

"She's shown an interest in joining us and if she does his knowledge of her could be...dangerous," Star explained.

Chandra sighed, "Fine. Whatever. What job?"

"Shadow and Echo can fill you in on the details," Eclipse said. He smirked, "You'll enjoy it."

Chandra raised an eyebrow and met his gaze doubtfully, "Sure." She turned on her heel and stalked out of the room.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to give into her like that?" Star asked, "She'll never learn if you continue with this."

Eclipse laughed, "Star. This is Phoenix we're talking about. If we don't give her permission to do what she wants she'll do it anyway." He met the telepath's gaze evenly, "That much was obvious when she went after Shadow without permission. No form of reprimand will make her change. She will become more cautious with time but she'll never be one to think before she jumps in. It's not in her character."

Star sighed, "Very well."

"It'd do you well to learn a little from her," Eclipse added. "Obeying orders isn't all there is to being in an organization."

Chandra walked up to Gideon, "Someone wants to meet you."

"Who?" Gideon asked.

"An elf named Star. She's cool. Don't worry about it," Chandra assured him. _Might as well share her name since he'll be losing the knowledge anyway. _She led him down the hallway and met Star on her way to where they had been. Star cleared his memory and dropped him off back on the world he had been on. She also altered the memory so to him Chandra had said she was leaving for a little while because she was bored.

"Eclipse said you guys had a job for me?" Phoenix said.

Shadow and Echo turned to her and nodded.

"There's an empire on a lost world-"

"Lost world?" Phoenix cocked her head to the side.

Echo sighed, "Give me the database. I don't have time to explain it to you."

Phoenix handed her the device. It was about five inches tall, three inches wide and less than an inch thick.

Echo took it and plugged it into a computer. She began uploading the information and returned to explaining the job, "The emperor has requested that we investigate some interesting occurrences within the aristocracy."

"We're infiltrating the aristocracy," Shadow said.

_'You'll enjoy it.' I'm infiltrating an aristocracy? I'm infiltrating a group of higher class snobby whiny-and I'm supposed to enjoy it?! I swear! He's just giving me these jobs so he can laugh at me. _She gritted her teeth, "Great."

Shadow started laughing, "Don't worry about it. The two of us will be doing it with you."

"What kind of odd occurrences anyway?" Phoenix took a deep breath. It was supposed to be relaxing but it didn't help. _Given that I've dealt with a mob of thugs being mind controlled by a reluctant master. And a fire mage that had a pet cat as well as a hoard summoning tattooed creepy lady._

"Well..." Echo and Shadow exchanged glances.

"There's a race that we've never come across before that's basically being kept as pets by the rich," Echo explained, "And it's been that way for a multitude of generations."

"However the emperor has noticed that the rules he created to try and keep that race from being taken advantage of appear to be being taken advantage of," Shadow added.

"What kind of rules?" Phoenix asked.

"Things like no one can say no to them and they basically have privileges," Echo sighed, "It's hard to explain."

"The race itself is called Felis but they're generally just referred to as cats," Shadow explained.

Phoenix cocked her head to the side.

"They look like this," Echo grabbed a device off one of her many desks and it projected an image of a human with minimal cat-like features.

"They generally have the ears the tail and the eyes," Shadow said in an almost monotone voice, "Although a select few more exotic ones have a pattern on their skin or slightly pronounced canine teeth."

Phoenix stared at the image, "That's...weird."

Shadow shrugged, "The emperor has heard that some of the aristocracy is using their privilege to spy on their rivals during the seasonal balls."

Phoenix stared at Shadow, "Balls? Like dancing?"

"And talking and gathering," Echo nodded, "Yes."

Phoenix growled, "That damn vampire is more than dead."

Echo glanced at her and Shadow suppressed a laugh.

"Are you three going to spend the rest of the day chatting?" Wyvern asked impatiently.

"Sorry," Echo rolled her eyes.

Phoenix cocked her head to the side, "Wyvern too?"

Shadow nodded.

Echo unplugged Phoenix's database and gave it back to her. The three of them met Wyvern outside the room.

"Where are we going exactly?" Phoenix asked.

Echo pointed to a world on the map Phoenix had never noticed before, "Here."

"That's pretty far removed," she sighed.

"It's a lost world," Echo shrugged, "You'll get it once you finish reading."

"Right," Phoenix stuck out her tongue. _I don't like reading. _She followed the three of them to the world they were staying on for the next while. The four of them arrived in a mansion. Phoenix looked around in mixed awe and uneasiness, "That's...big."

"You're going to have to be able to act properly in a dress for this to work," Wyvern said.

Phoenix deflated and stared at the ground, "That vampire's dead. This is stupid. I don't wanna do this anymore."

"You haven't even started yet," Echo rolled her eyes.

Phoenix walked sullenly up the stairs, "I'm going to read and looked around."

"Which means she's looking around but trying to make us believe she's doing something productive," Echo sighed, "This is already interesting."


	20. Chapter 20

God dammit Phoenix!" Echo chased her down the stairs.

Phoenix flipped over the edge of the stairs and landed in the entrance hall of the mansion they were currently living in. She landed gracefully and darted out the door. She gasped and let her hands rest on her knees, "Geez. It's not like I did all that much. It was just a prank."

"What was just a prank?"

Phoenix jumped and looked up. She saw a young boy, probably a couple years younger than her, standing in front of her. He had sandy orange hair and similarly colored cat ears on his head. His orange tail flicked back and forth. His bright purple eyes studied her curiously. Phoenix sighed, "Well...I kind of messed up my sister's stuff. It _was_ a prank and she took it personally."

"Oh," he shrugged, "Okay." He continued to study her, "Well, you seem like you're new around here."

"Well...yeah," Phoenix nodded. She shrugged, "We are." _Ugh! At least he's asking vague questions. I swear these rules are dumb. Why can't I just tell him to screw off? Well...then again. He looks kind of lost and sad. I wouldn't want to make that worse at all. _

"What's your name?"

"Crystal. What's yours?" Phoenix asked smoothly.

He shrugged, "Peyton."

"Alright. See you around I guess," Phoenix sighed. _Don't trip. I don't want to fall and die in this stupid- UGH! I hate dresses. And with very good reason. There's no sense in them. They just get in the way of everything. _She sat down on the ground where she was and stared into the city streets, "This is so boring. We aren't even doing anything."

"What do you mean?" Peyton asked.

Phoenix sighed. _So he isn't leaving anytime soon. Oh well. It's not like I don't enjoy the company. _"It's so boring. There's nothing going on right now. The next event is a whole month away."

"Oh," he looked away from her, "You're excited then?"

"No," Phoenix answered honestly, "I'm just bored with the day to day blech."

He looked at her in surprise, "What do you mean?"

"Everyday's the same. I'd take anything to make life more interesting," Phoenix shrugged.

"Be careful what you wish for. It might actually come true."

"I know," Phoenix looked up at the sky, "Mind if I ask you some questions?"

"Go ahead."

"How many families are there, exactly?"

"Well," Peyton paused to think, "Seven I think. Including you."

"And how many 'Cats'," she made quotation motions with her hands as she said it, "does each family have?"

"Are you trying to get information out of me?"

"Do you want a one hundred percent honest answer or a half true lie?" Phoenix smirked at him.

"Uh...both?" he looked uncertain.

"Honestly somewhat. More like I have an older sister that wants me to know absolutely everything about this place within three days and I don't feel like pissing her off. Half true lie is no," Phoenix smiled.

He chuckled, "That's funny."

_Mission somewhat accomplished. Though I am lying to him. Oh well. _"Anyway, what's your best estimate."

"I don't know," he shook his head, "I only know that the family I live with has fourteen that are around my age. But we're expected to be able to look after ourselves so they don't have to provide us with anything."

"That's a lot," Phoenix narrowed her eyes, "Why are there so many?"

"I don't know," Peyton shook his head, "I just know that every single one of us looks like this. We all have the ears and the tail. Nothing more. Nothing less."

"That's weird," Phoenix shrugged.

"Well...uh. Bye, Crystal," Peyton got to his feet and hurried away.

Phoenix waited for a moment before following him.

"What are you doing?"

Phoenix froze and turned. She saw a young woman with golden hair. Her silver armor had gold trimming and her blue eyes studied her. The woman didn't appear to be hostile just curious. She also seemed like she wanted an adequate honest answer. Phoenix swallowed, "Looking into the 'cats' here."

"Really? Why would you be interested?"

"Because it's why I'm here," Phoenix said slowly.

"Ah, the vampire sent you didn't he?" she shook her head, "So he actually managed to pick up someone like you."

"Huh?" Phoenix stared at her, "Well...it's not like I don't get to do things my way. Well I-I kinda do things my way anyway." She chuckled nervously. _Maybe that's why I get all the weird jobs. Oh well. It's not like he can stop me. _

She shook her head, "I am Elspeth. I can tell you everything I know about the situation here but that would require a large portion of your time."

"Okay Elspeth," Phoenix nodded. She followed the blond woman to a dark alley in the city.

"First things first your name?"

"Chandra," Phoenix said.

"Alright," Elspeth nodded, "The companies that sell the cats aren't originally from this world. Neither are the cats themselves. An extremely long time ago they were brought here. The companies moved because someone drove them away from the world they were on. They came here and bred and distributed the cats."

"Bred?" Phoenix asked in shock.

Elspeth nodded, "Yes. I have done what I can which is mostly gather information. I have not been here for much longer than you have so I haven't had time to act on the information I have."

Phoenix's eyes narrowed, "So the companies are doing this? Do you know where the companies are?"

"Yes," Elspeth handed her a map, "The companies' locations are marked with an 'x' on the map."

"Alright," Phoenix nodded. _The companies must be generations old. That means that the people in charge might not understand that they're doing something bad. Of course that doesn't entirely matter. That just determines whether or not I'm going to go easy on them. _"Interesting. Can I keep this?"

Elspeth nodded, "Of course."

Phoenix turned and darted away. She climbed up onto a rooftop and stared around her. _The closest location is just south of here. _She dropped down onto the roof of the neighboring building and darted along it. She crouched at the edge and looked around again, "Of course just south on a map could be an all day trip on foot." _You gotta wonder how places like Ravnica were built. I mean it's not like it was that big forever. That's not possible. Of course it might be but I doubt it. _


	21. Chapter 21

"'Will you stop?'

'Why? Just cause some little kid gets a little pissy? Really?' cold laughter echoed through the room.

'I'll kill you.' The girl's voice was completely flat. It held little to no emotion at all.

'Don't make me laugh,' the laughter of the man grew louder, rising from deep within his chest. Suddenly his laughter was cut off. It ended in a choked gurgle. He collapsed to the ground. His eyes glazed over with the blank look of death.

'I told you I would.' the girl said. Her voice didn't change at all. The man's blood pooled at her feet and soaked into the rich carpet."

"Who was this girl?"

"The only name she's known by is Crimson Phoenix."

"Really, Jarvis? That's a dumb story."

"Oh c'mon Ral. It's a great story," Jarvis insisted. He smirked, "It actually happened too."

"No it didn't," Ral shook his head.

"How do you know?" Jarvis leaned forward, closer to the smaller boy, "The only thing Crimson Phoenix leaves behind is a bright orange flower petal. The only thing that announces her arrival is a phoenix flying across the sky. Whoever her target is will see that phoenix."

"That's dumb! If she really did exist why would she announce her arrival like that?!" Ral insisted.

"I think it's cool," the smaller girl next to him whined.

"Sure, Ella," Ral sighed. He glared at Jarvis, "Why would she announce her arrival like that?"

"Haven't you heard of assassins leaving hints for their target to make them afraid? What is someone like when they're afriad?" Jarvis asked, "Are they thinking logically or are they making rash decisions in the moment?"

"They're more likely to act out of the ordinary," Ral mumbled.

"Exactly. They would easily be able to be led directly into a trap if they are afraid," Jarvis nodded, "That's why she would announce her arrival. And why she would leave a small something behind as a warning to anyone else."

"That's scary," Ella whimpered.

"Oh, it's alright Ella. She doesn't target kids. She may be ruthless but you have nothing to worry about," Jarvis patted the kid on the top of the head reassuringly.

"Phoenix, killing them wasn't in the job description," Wyvern insisted.

"So? Job description or not they got what they deserved," Phoenix shrugged. She turned away from them, "I'll be going out again tonight." Four days and she had taken out seven locations with Elspeth's help. She was increasingly surprised at how much better she was getting at sneaking and lying. She had nearly been caught twice but had managed to weasel her way out of it with little effort. Phoenix walked out the door and climbed onto a nearby roof. She pulled a cloak out from under a tile in the ceiling and pulled it over her shoulders. She lifted the hood over her head and darted along the roof to the next location. She summoned a phoenix and had it fly over the building she was targeting.

"Will you stop? Do you know that what you are doing is wrong?"

"Why should I stop? The cat business keeps my pockets full. That's all I need."

Phoenix's eyes narrowed, "Very well. If that is the ending you choose." She leaped forward and knocked him into the large overstuffed chair that he was standing in front of. She dug a thin blade deep into his chest. She dropped a bright orange flower petal from her left hand. She pulled the blade out of his body and turned away. She hurried out of the building. _Elspeth should've gotten any cats in here out so onto the next site it is. _She took down three sites that night before returning to the mansion they were staying at.

"Crystal."

"Peyton?" Phoenix turned to him in surprise.

"What are you doing out at night?" he asked.

"Just walking," she shrugged.

He shook his head, "That's not what I meant."

"Oh. It wasn't?" Phoenix swallowed nervously.

"Are you...taking on the companies?" he asked hesitantly.

"How'd you guess?" Phoenix sighed. _Might as well cut the act. _"Was it because you've been following me the past two nights?"

"You knew about that?!" Peyton squeaked.

Phoenix nodded, "Yeah."

"Well I-I just wanted to know what you were doing because you seemed...odd when we first met so I was curious and..." he shrugged and studied the ground.

"C'mon," Phoenix grabbed his arm and dragged him inside.

"You've got quite the reputation building," Echo snapped the moment she walked in.

"What?" Phoenix asked.

Echo sighed. She turned a computer monitor around to face Phoenix, "This is the story that's been going around. The multiverse."

Phoenix read through it and burst out laughing, "You're serious?"

"You're a cold killer Phoenix. Congratulations."

"Cold killer?" Peyton repeated nervously.

"No," Phoenix shook her head, "Those are just the rumors that are spreading around about me."

"Who's this?" Wyverna sked curiously.

"Butterfly?" Phoenix looked from Wyvern to Peyton and back again.

"Huh?" Peyton stared at her in confusion, "But-"

"Eclipse will have to okay it," Wyvern shrugged, "but I don't see why not."

"Wait. What're you talking about?" Peyton asked.

"Well if you want to do something like what I'm doing yourself then I can help you out with that," Phoenix shrugged.

"Re-really?" Peyton stuttered.

Phoenix nodded, "By the way my name's Phoenix not Crystal."

"So you did lie," Peyton glared at her, "I knew you did."

"Sorry," Phoenix shrugged.

"Did you lie to Elspeth too?"

"No," Phoenix shook her head, "Phoenix is something of a code name. The name I gave to Elspeth is my 'real' name."

"Oh," Peyton said.

"Just like how Peyton will be your name but your name can also be Butterfly."

"Why Butterfly?"

"Because you like them don't you?" Phoenix asked.

"Huh?" Peyton stared at her. His cheeks started to turn red in embarrassment, "Well...no not really."

Phoenix raised an eyebrow, "Okay. Whatever you say."

"Well I do like butterflies but-how did you know that?" Peyton mumbled.

"I say you watching one the other day," Phoenix shrugged.

"You-"

Phoenix nodded, "Yep. I do keep an eye on the friends I make you know."

"I'm your...friend?"

"Well yeah," Phoenix rolled her eyes. She yawned and stretched, "Well anyway. I'm off to sleep now. See ya guys. Look after him for me will you?"

"Sure," Echo muttered dryly.

Phoenix flopped onto the couch and closed her eyes.

"I don't know why you insist on spending time on the couch when you have your own room," Wyvern muttered.

"Because I don't like my room. I've slept on a rooftop before. It's not the worst thing that's ever happened," Phoenix shrugged.


	22. Chapter 22

Phoenix sighed, "Well. It looks like there's only a couple left."

Elspeth nodded, "Well done, Pyromancer."

Phoenix felt her cheeks turn red with the unexpected praise, "Well...you know. Whatever." She turned her attention back to the building she was watching, "It also looks like they've caught the memo."

"Then I'll deal with them," Elspeth said evenly, "Go back to the others."

"But-"

"You have more to do. There's darkness ahead of you but I'm sure you'll burn brightly in the face of it." Elspeth disappeared without waiting for Phoenix to respond. Phoenix stared after her in confusion, "Huh? She doesn't make any sense." _I think I need to talk to the bloody vampire about the kinds of jobs he gives me. I'm tired of dealing with wackjobs and I'm tired of babysitting._ She returned to the mansion the Lotus had borrowed. Echo had returned to the space with Peyton to talk to Eclipse about him joining. Phoenix felt almost like she had forced it on him but he had been extremely excited as well as nervous about the prospect of it. _I guess I didn't. I really should just let people be. Yeah. Just let everyone else live their own lives. I can't take someone else controlling me personally if I'm going to force something onto other people. Yeah. _Phoenix yawned, "Well looks like the job's done."

"I see," Wyvern muttered disapprovingly.

"Sorry," Phoenix shrugged, "At least I've learned something."

"And what is that?"

"That I've kind of turned into a hypocrite," Phoenix shrugged, "I get pissed off when people control me and then I have a tendency to force things onto others. Maybe that's why I bug people so much."

Wyvern nodded, "Alright. Let's head back. According to Echo Shadow has turned to extra dimensional space into an inn on Ravnica."

"An inn?" Phoenix cocked her head to the side.

Wyvern nodded, "And Flame brought in two new kids for us to watch. They're friends of his that apparently have no where else to be."

"Are they going to join?"

"I don't know. This wouldn't be the first time we've sheltered kids without having them actually join," Wyvern shrugged.

"When was that?"

"An extremely long time ago," Wyvern answered vaguely.

Phoenix followed her through the doorway to the extra dimensional space and looked around in surprise. Shadow was in the process of teaching a young girl, probably ten years old, how to make cookie dough. Her sea green eyes were wide with awe and curiosity. A young boy around the same age as the girl watched curiously, "It looks so...gooey and gross." He had sky blue eyes and extremely messy blond hair.

"This is what cookies look like before you eat them," Shadow shrugged.

"I didn't know you could cook?" Phoenix said as she approached her.

"Sure I can," Shadow shrugged, "Wyvern, Eclipse wants to talk to you about Saerris."

Wyvern nodded and disappeared.

"I was raised in a place where everything was pretty much made by hand. I learned how to cook from my cousin," Shadow shrugged.

"Oh," Phoenix looked at the batter over the young girl's shoulder, "It does look kind of gross."

Shadow shrugged, "You can taste it if you like. Though not a lot. Raw eggs can make you sick."

Phoenix reached into the bowl and took a little bit for herself and the little girl in front of her. She handed the girl a little bit of cookie dough, "It's all gooey."

The girl ate it curiously.

"Oh what're your guys' names?" Phoenix asked.

"I'm Shiyon," the girl smiled, "Hi!"

"I'm Roxin," the boy whispered shyly.

"Cool-"

"This is Phoenix," Shadow interrupted her.

"Oh yeah huh. My name would help wouldn't it?" Phoenix sighed.

"Like Crimson Phoenix?" Shiyon asked excitedly.

"Huh? Yeah?" Phoenxi cocked her head to the side, "How'd you guess?"

"This pink haired guy named Jarvis would tell stories to all of us. It wasn't just us either. It's just that the other kids had places they could go," Roxin shrugged.

"Oh...cool," Phoenix nodded. _Should've known. My god. Bet me he's the one responsible for my reputation._

"You're not nearly as scary as you are in the stories though," Shiyon said.

Phoenix gave her a playfully evil look, "Is that so?"

Shiyon nodded, "Yep."

"Rar," Phoenix started chasing the two kids around the room.

"Hey, look who's back. What's up with the great Crimson Phoenix nowadays?" Dragon asked.

She stopped where she was and glared at him, "Seriously? I'm not that cool alright!"

"Not according to your reputation. Keep up your attitude and habits and you might just make it to fairy tale standing."

Phoenix glared at him, "That's not even-"

"Phoenix. Eclipse wants to talk to you."

Phoenix sighed, "Fine. Fine." She shoved Dragon backwards into a table on her way up the stairs. The inn itself was still "under construction". They were remodeling the first five floors of the building that made up the extra dimensional space to better resemble an inn. Phoenix walked into Eclipse's room and looked around. She saw his desk. The room was otherwise unfurnished and he didn't appear to be in it.

"Ah, Phoenix," she turned to see him standing in the doorway. Standing beside him was a girl around her age with snow white hair and purple, almost lavender eyes.

Phoenix cocked her head to the side, "Who's this?"

"This is Yonna," Eclipse said, "otherwise known as Black Dove."

Phoenix nodded to her, "Hey."

Dove returned it.

"She's also yours to teach."

"Huh?" Phoenix stared at him.

He nodded, "Yes."

Phoenix shook her head, "No way. I can't teach anyone. I can't even babysit. And that's an almost brainless activity."

"You did perfectly fine at babysitting a telepath."

"Okay," Phoenix rolled her eyes, "Until Wyvern locked me up and wouldn't let me out so I could keep my promise to him. AND now he doesn't even remember the promise he made to me because-"

"That's in the past though," Eclipse said.

"So?"

"Being a slave to the past keeps people from moving forward and remaining free from their fears," Dove said quietly.

Phoenix looked from her to Eclipse and back again, "Alright then. Fine. But after this I'm not going another one of your assigned jobs. I'll choose whether or not I do it."

"You always had the choice."

"What?" Phoenix stared at him, "You mean I didn't have to babysit that stupid annoying-"

"No. You didn't. But did you learn something from doing so?"

"Well...I learned that he's annoying. And telepaths aren't worth humoring anymore than law mages are," Phoenix shrugged.

Eclipse pinched the bridge of his nose, "Anything else?"

"Well...I learned that his brother's pretty cool. And my brother is apparently friends with his brother which I never knew and is really weird. I also learned that I hate not being able to keep my promises because of circumstances that I can't fully control."

Eclipse nodded, "Alright. Now you just have to learn to let go of what is out of your control and continue to try to keep your promise even if the other person, whoever they are, doesn't remember."

Phoenix nodded, "Alright. So I'm her teacher? Like you for me?"

Eclipse nodded, "Yes."

"Cool," Phoenix rolled her eyes, "I'm Phoenix in case you hadn't gathered that. My name is technically Chandra but whatever." She sighed and led the girl out of the building, "Don't worry. It's fun here. I don't know why the groups called assassins. I mean we babysit more than we assassinate so we might as well be babysitters for hire."

Dove proved to be extremely quiet. Most of the time Phoenix felt like she was talking to a brick wall. The other girl was incredibly naïve and clingy which annoyed her.

"Echo!" Phoenix yelled up the stairs.

"Phoenix don't yell!" Star ordered.

"I don't feel like climbing up seventy billion stairs just to climb all the way down them two minutes later," Phoenix snapped. Her and the telepath had never really gotten along. Dove watched them glare at each other awkwardly. Phoenix noticed a nervous tightness to her muscles. She sighed and turned away from Star, "I'll think about it before the next time I yell. Kay?"

"Try just not doing so," Star walked away.

Phoenix rolled her eyes, "God. There's just no pleasing her is there?"

"What do you need?" Echo asked.

"Dove needs a-"

"Jumper!" Flame said, "That's what we're calling it from now on."

"A jumper?" Phoenix burst out laughing, "Really?"

Flame nodded, "Yep."

"Okay," Phoenix shrugged, "But she needs one."

"Alright, one moment," Echo sighed. She disappeared back up the stairs.

"What's a jumper?" Dove asked quietly.

"It's a device that'll allow you to travel to pretty much any world you want," Phoenix shrugged, "The space this building takes up doesn't have access to all the worlds out there. A jumper doesn't either but it will allow you to reach more of them."

"Why don't you have one?"

"I am a being called a planeswalker. I can travel to any world I want without the help of technology," Phoenix explained the concept as well as she could since she didn't know exactly what a planeswalker was herself. "After you get your jumper we can start doing stuff that doesn't involve helping them remodel the place and interacting with all the soon to be customers."

"Where are we going?"

"I don't know," Phoenix shrugged, "I'll figure it out."

"Okay."

"Here," Echo reappeared and handed Dove a bracer. She popped it open and explained the controls to her. Phoenix tuned them out. She didn't have to worry about using a jumper. She'd never be able to work one anyway. A planeswalker's powerful aura messed with the signals the device sent. It wasn't counted as a disadvantage or glitch because there was no need for a planeswalker to use it. The device's sole purpose was to mimic a planeswalker's ability.

"Alright. The jumper is now hers. Have fun you two," Echo gave Phoenix a hard look, "_Be careful_. You are no longer responsible for just yourself."

Phoenix nodded, "Of course." _I've already gotten that lecture from Wyvern. I don't need it from you._


End file.
